Scott Adams, the brilliant mind behind the Dilbert comic strip, died recently at age 68 after fighting cancer. Most people remember him as the humorist who made office cubicles funny. He turned the pointy-haired boss into a global symbol of corporate nonsense. Yet his financial insights proved equally sharp and surprisingly simple.
The 87-Word Revelation That Changed Everything
I first wrote about Adams in 2013 while researching unrelated topics. That year, I discovered what he called his "book" on financial planning. Its title was "Everything You Need to Know About Financial Planning." The entire book contained just eighty-seven words. Not pages, but words.
Here is the complete text:
- Make a will.
- Pay off your credit cards.
- Get term life insurance if you have a family to support.
- Fund your retirement accounts to the maximum.
- Buy a house if you want to live in one and can afford it.
- Put six months' expenses in a money market fund.
- Take whatever money is left over and invest 70 per cent in a stock index fund and 30 per cent in a bond fund through any discount broker and never touch it until retirement.
That was everything. The whole book. Adams captured all essential personal finance principles in those few sentences. I felt both surprised and delighted. This man, whom I considered merely a witty cartoonist, had reached the same money conclusions I spent years explaining to readers.
Why Simplicity Beats Complexity Every Time
Adams possessed solid credentials. He held an economics bachelor's degree and an MBA. He worked in banking for years. When he attempted to write a proper personal finance book, he kept simplifying the content. The more he refined his ideas, the less material remained. Only these core sentences survived the process.
This approach represents the essence of sound financial thinking. The investment industry thrives on complexity because complicated systems justify high fees and commissions. They need entire armies of advisors to explain their products. Adams cut through this noise with remarkable clarity. He had no commercial interest in making things complicated.
Dilbert's Satirical Take on Financial Nonsense
His comic strips often mocked this tendency toward unnecessary complexity. One memorable Dilbert cartoon features the evil Dogbert explaining his mutual fund plan. Dogbert says, "We'll start ten mutual funds, each with randomly-chosen stocks. Later, we'll build our advertisements around whichever one does the best purely by chance. My goal is to be the premier provider of imaginary expertise."
I imagine some mutual fund executives reading that strip over morning tea experienced uncomfortable self-recognition. Adams understood how financial marketing often disguises luck as skill.
The Power of Combined Mediocre Skills
After Adams' death, I found a previously unseen quote from him. He said, "I have poor art skills, mediocre business skills, good but not great writing talent, and an early knowledge of the Internet. And I have a good but not great sense of humour. I'm like one big mediocre soup. None of my skills are world-class, but when my mediocre skills are combined, they become a powerful market force."
This insight applies perfectly to investing. You don't need world-class analytical abilities or insider information. You don't require market prediction skills. What you truly need is a combination of ordinary capabilities.
- The discipline to save money regularly
- The patience to stay invested through market cycles
- The common sense to avoid unnecessary complexity
- The humility to acknowledge you don't need clever tricks
When combined, these seemingly mediocre skills create tremendous wealth-building power.
Lasting Wisdom From an Unexpected Source
Adams demonstrated that the most valuable insights often come from people who aren't selling anything. His eighty-seven words remain the best investment advice I have ever encountered. Their value comes not despite their brevity, but because of it. In a world drowning in financial content, he proved everything that matters can fit on a single postcard.
Dhirendra Kumar is the Founder and CEO of Value Research.
Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India.
