Pleasanton: 'Dilbert' creator shares advice with middle-schoolers

PLEASANTON -- Scott Adams readily admits he's neither a talented artist nor a great writer, but having some skill in each area was enough to launch his career as a successful cartoonist.

The well-known Dilbert creator told students that one key to success is what he calls "layering" -- honing several skills to make yourself more marketable.

"I'm a world-famous cartoonist who is not a very good artist," Scott said, prompting the students to burst out in laughter. "You may have noticed this. When I first started and tried to be syndicated, one of the editors said, 'Maybe you could find an actual artist to do the drawing for you.' "

But Adams persevered.

Scott Adams, the creator of the "Dilbert" cartoon strip, draws the character "Dogbert" for 6th grader Robert Gan, after giving a speech for students at Hart Middle School in Pleasanton, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2014. Adams was part of the school's "Breakfast with an Expert" talk series. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) ( Doug Duran )

"It turns out that didn't matter," he said. "There are very few people who can do those two things. It's pretty rare to find an artist who can write. There aren't a lot of them."

It was the multiple skills that paid off when Adams started shopping his quirky comic strip to syndicates.

"I'm not the funniest person in the room," he said, prompting more laughter. "I don't have world-class humor, but I do a humor product. My writing and my drawing skills are kind of average.

"I'm not Warren Buffett. I'm not the best business person in the world. But I'm a reasonably good business person. None of these (skills) was that hard to learn. You put these together, and it's a powerful force."

Adams, a Pleasanton resident, presented his keys for success speech recently to a few dozen adoring Hart Middle School students at the school's monthly "Breakfast with an Expert" event.

The congenial cartoonist surprised the students by telling them that setting goals is not the path to success. Instead, he told them, take a systematic approach by trying many different things that may end in failure -- but learn from those failures.

"I've opened restaurants that didn't work," Adams said. "I've tried a number of different businesses. I've written a number of video games that nobody bought. There were about 36 things in the business realm that I tried that just didn't work. I won't tell you all these because it will take a long time and it will be embarrassing."

Adams also contends that following your passion is highly overrated.

"If you were to say, 'What does passion predict?' I would say, by the numbers, 'Failure,' " he said. "This feeling you get of passion happens after something is successful. I can't say that I was passionate about being a cartoonist. It was one of the 36 things I tried. I didn't have passion about it. But Dilbert is the one thing that worked out. Because of that, I got real excited about it."

Scott Adams, the creator of the "Dilbert" cartoon strip, speaks to students at Hart Middle School in Pleasanton, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2014. Adams was part of the school's "Breakfast with an Expert" talk series. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) ( Doug Duran )

Adams' advice, for which he gets paid big bucks to present to Fortune 500 companies, includes eating a healthful diet, exercising and trying again and again until luck and multiple skills pay off.

While the students soaked up the advice about success, they were eager to ask about the wildly popular Dilbert comic strip. Adams told them he developed Dilbert as a doodle when he worked in the corporate world. A former boss suggested the name Dilbert, which Adams only later learned was the name of a popular World War II comic strip character.

"The name Dilbert is an embarrassing story," he admitted with a chuckle. He also admitted there's no particular reason Dilbert's tie is always flipped up.

Sixth-grader Paris Catura was excited to hear a celebrity speak at Hart.

"I was really happy because I don't really know that many famous people who come around in California besides John Madden," Catura said of Pleasanton's other world-famous resident. "I read (Adams') comic every Sunday. They're just really funny."

Longtime Dilbert fan Sam Buck brought Adams' "The Joy of Work" book to be signed, and the cartoonist graciously obliged.

"I like all the office pranks (in the strip)," the sixth-grader said. "I like all the personal experiences. I liked hearing about all the failed things he's done."

Noelle Mattison found the success speech to be inspirational.

"When I heard he was coming, I told my mom because I like comics," the seventh-grader said. "She told me all about him. I saw his comics online and thought they were really cool. I like how unique his ways were. For example, instead of having a goal, have a pattern or routine."