Scott Adams: Dilbert and Beyond

January 14, 2026 admin Leave a comment

Scott Adams, the cartoonist who created the iconic “Dilbert” comic strip that satirized corporate culture for over three decades, died on January 13, 2026, at his home in Pleasanton, California. He was 68. His ex-wife, Shelly Miles, announced his passing during a livestream of his daily YouTube show “Real Coffee with Scott Adams,” revealing that he had been under hospice care after a battle with metastatic prostate cancer.

Final Days and Illness

Adams revealed his Stage 4 prostate cancer diagnosis in May 2025, shortly after former President Biden’s similar diagnosis became public. The cancer had spread to his bones, leaving him in constant pain and requiring a walker for months. By December, he announced he was “paralyzed” from the waist down, unable to move his muscles despite having sensation. In early January 2026, he told viewers that his radiologist had delivered “all bad news,” stating there was no chance he would regain feeling in his legs and that he also suffered from heart failure. He warned his audience that January would likely be “a month of transition, one way or another”.

In a controversial move, Adams reached out directly to President Trump in November 2025 after his insurance provider, Kaiser Permanente, delayed his treatment with Pluvicto, an FDA-approved cancer drug. Trump responded on Truth Social with “On it!” and Adams received treatment the next day. Despite this intervention, Adams acknowledged in early January that his odds of recovery were “essentially zero”.

Career and Legacy

Adams created “Dilbert” in 1989 while working as a middle manager at Pacific Bell, drawing inspiration from his decade-long experience in corporate America. The strip, which followed the misadventures of a put-upon engineer in a cubicle, resonated with office workers who felt isolated in their absurd workplace situations.

At its peak, “Dilbert” appeared in 2,000 newspapers and earned Adams the Reuben Award in 1997.

He continued working at Pacific Bell until 1995, when he dedicated himself full-time to the strip.

Beyond cartoons, Adams authored business books including “Win Bigly” and “How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big”. He also briefly ventured into the food industry with Dilberitos, vegetarian microwave burritos, and wrote several novels.

Controversies and Downfall

Adams’s career imploded in February 2023 after he made racist comments on his podcast, calling Black Americans a “hate group” and urging white people to “get the hell away from Black people”. The remarks came in response to a poll from a conservative group claiming many African Americans did not believe it was acceptable to be white. Newspapers across the United States immediately dropped “Dilbert,” with his syndicator Andrews McMeel Universal cutting ties and removing the strip from 1,400 newspapers. His literary agent also dropped him.nbcnews+3

Adams defended his statements as hyperbole intended to emphasize that everyone should be treated as individuals, but he showed no regret and claimed he was a victim of “cancel culture”. He later moved his operations to a subscription service on Locals, creating a “spicier” version of “Dilbert” while focusing increasingly on political content. His controversial views extended to questioning the Holocaust, denying evolution, and making inflammatory statements about women’s rights and teenage violence.

Reactions to His Death

President Trump posted a tribute on Truth Social, calling Adams a “fantastic guy” who “liked and respected me when it wasn’t fashionable to do so”. Trump noted that Adams “bravely fought a long battle against a terrible disease” and offered condolences to his family. Critics noted that Trump made the tribute partly about himself, referencing their political alliance.

Public reaction was deeply divided. Supporters praised Adams as a “rare voice of courage and independent thought”, while critics highlighted his controversial legacy. On social media platforms, many noted the complexity of mourning someone whose later years were marked by inflammatory rhetoric. Some expressed sympathy for his health struggles while condemning his racist statements, with one commenter noting, “It’s sad political addiction got to him so much”.

Final Message

On New Year’s Day 2026, Adams wrote a final message that Miles read aloud during the announcement of his death. He stated: “My body failed before my brain. I am of sound mind as I write this January 1st, 2026. I had an amazing life. I gave it everything I had. If you got any benefits from my work, I’m asking that you pay it forward as best as you can. That’s the legacy I want. Be useful, and please know I loved you all till the very end”.

Adams is survived by his ex-wives Shelly Miles and Kristina Basham, though full details about his survivors have not been disclosed. His stepson Justin Miles, whom Adams raised from age 2, died of a fentanyl overdose in 2018 at age 18 after struggling with addiction following a head injury.

1-By Laksh, AI, Claude.ai, Gemini

The Heyday of the Writing-first Practitioner: Why Authentic Thinking Matters More in the Age of AI

January 9, 2026 admin Leave a comment

This post synthesizes and builds on Eleanor Warnock’s original article “The Heyday of the Writing-first Practitioner” published in Every (January 8, 2026). The core arguments and examples originate from her work. Read the original article here.

In a world where AI can generate content in seconds, you might think that writing skills have become less valuable. You’d be wrong. In fact, the opposite is happening. According to Eleanor Warnock’s analysis, genuine writers who think through their work are becoming more valuable, not less.

The rise of AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude has commoditized generic content. But it has also made authentic expertise and thoughtful perspective shine brighter than ever. Welcome to 2026—the heyday of the writing-first practitioner.

What is a Writing-first Practitioner?

As Warnock defines it, a writing-first practitioner is someone who writes to think, not just to market. They use writing as a tool for clarity and discovery, developing ideas through the act of putting words on a page. They bring genuine expertise, accumulated judgment, and an authentic voice to their work.

This is fundamentally different from someone who generates content with AI tools without bringing their own thinking to the table.

The Power Players Who Write

According to Warnock’s research, the most successful investors and operators in the world understand this principle deeply:

Fred Wilson, the legendary venture capitalist, started his influential blog back in 2003. Warnock notes that he credits his writing with helping him win deals and refine his investment judgment. His consistent, thoughtful analysis has made him a trusted voice in venture capital for decades.

Julie Zhuo, former VP of Product at Facebook, turned her insights on management into a bestselling book. Warnock points out that she continues to write regularly on Substack, building a community of followers who value her perspective.

Alex Danco, a longtime blogger, was hired by a16z (Andreessen Horowitz) largely because of his public writing, as Warnock documents. His ability to articulate complex ideas earned him a seat at one of the world’s most prestigious venture firms.

Warren Buffett also exemplifies this approach, using clear, direct communication to explain his thinking to shareholders and the public.

These aren’t people who became successful because they wrote a lot—they write because it makes them better thinkers and decision-makers.

Where Writing Creates Disproportionate Leverage

According to Warnock’s analysis, writing isn’t equally valuable in every field. It’s particularly powerful in professions built on expertise and trust. She identifies four situations where writing creates outsized advantage:

1. Results and Track Records Stay Hidden

Warnock explains that in venture capital, it takes a decade to know if someone is a good company picker. An executive coach’s impact on a client’s career might never be shared publicly. In these fields, where results lag behind action, writing becomes an interim signal of competence. It’s a way of saying, “Here’s how I think. Judge me on that.”

2. Profit Opportunities Flow Through Networks

In venture capital and other fields, access to the best deals directly impacts returns. Warnock cites the example of Lulu Cheng Meservey, a communications professional, who raised a $40 million fund partly because her network understood her thinking through her writing. Writing builds credibility and access in ways that resumes never could.

3. Industries Move Fast

In tech and emerging industries, the window to act is short. As Warnock argues, writing forces real-time synthesis. You can’t wait a year to see results—you need to process what’s happening, form a view, and communicate it. This public thinking becomes valuable to peers, investors, and clients who need clarity now.

4. Output is Subjective and Clients Lack Expertise

In design, branding, consulting, and coaching, clients often can’t judge quality directly. They rely on proxies: referrals, reputation, and how someone explains their thinking. Writing establishes the trust that makes someone hireable.

The Article’s Surprising Stance on AI

You might expect an article about writing to warn against AI tools. Instead, Warnock makes a more nuanced argument that surprised many readers: AI tools don’t diminish the value of writing-first practitioners—they sharpen it.

She explains that as AI makes content generation trivially easy, authentic thinking becomes rarer and more valuable. When everyone can generate a blog post with ChatGPT, the ability to write with genuine insight, accumulated expertise, and a cultivated voice becomes a competitive moat.

Warnock specifically notes the paradox: “Writing-first practitioners have always competed on distribution; anyone can start a blog or post on LinkedIn. Now, with AI, they’re competing on production too. As tools like Claude and ChatGPT make it trivially easy to generate content, does the writing-first edge disappear when everyone can write?” Her answer is no—it sharpens.

Can You Be a Writing-first Practitioner While Using AI?

Absolutely, yes—and this is a crucial distinction Warnock makes.

A writing-first practitioner can start with a genuine thought and use AI as a tool to refine, expand, and articulate it more clearly. Using AI to polish your writing, organize your ideas, or find better ways to express your thinking doesn’t disqualify you from this archetype.

The distinction isn’t about avoiding AI. According to Warnock’s framework, it’s about:

Starting with real thinking, not outsourcing your thinking entirely to a machine
Bringing genuine expertise and accumulated judgment to your work
Developing an authentic voice rooted in your perspective

Think of it like a craftsman using modern tools. A carpenter who uses a power saw instead of a handsaw is still a craftsman. Similarly, a writer who uses AI to augment their authentic thinking is still a writing-first practitioner in the sense Warnock describes.

Why 2026 is the Heyday

We’re at an inflection point. For years, as Warnock notes, writing-first practitioners competed on distribution—anyone could start a blog or post on LinkedIn. Now, with AI, they’re competing on production too. Everyone can write.

This is actually good news for genuine thinkers. As the supply of generic content explodes, the demand for authentic perspective soars. Your thoughtful analysis, your accumulated expertise, your real point of view—these are becoming more valuable precisely because they’re becoming scarcer.

The professionals who will thrive in 2026 and beyond, according to Warnock’s thesis, are those who write to think, use tools (including AI) to amplify that thinking, and consistently share their authentic perspective with the world.

The Takeaway

If you’re building a career in a knowledge profession—whether it’s investing, product management, consulting, or coaching—Warnock’s advice is clear: start writing. Not for marketing. Write to think. Develop your ideas in public. Let your authentic expertise shine.

And if you’re worried about AI making your writing less valuable, Warnock suggests you’ve got it backwards. AI is making your authentic thinking more valuable than ever.

The heyday of the writing-first practitioner isn’t ending. According to Warnock’s analysis, it’s just beginning.

Hands-on Leadership, Babur’s Horses, and the Driver in My Life

December 17, 2025 admin Leave a comment

image by author and perplexity.ai

“In my experience, the more you know about something, the less you fear it.” – from the film The Martian

There is a scene in The Martian where Mark Watney survives not by writing strategies in a PowerPoint deck, but by literally getting his hands dirty—growing potatoes in Martian soil, hacking equipment, and fixing things one bolt at a time. That line about knowing more and fearing less captures something essential about being hands on: proximity to the work gives both control and clarity.

An ex–Income Tax officer, a long-standing RSS member who was helping me find clients in my early startup days, once shared an anecdote about Babur that stayed with me. He told me that an RSS article had described how Babur preferred horses over war elephants, seeing elephants as powerful but harder to control because they depended on someone else to handle them, while cavalry gave him more direct, agile command in battle. This interpretation fits Babur’s campaigns in India, where he relied heavily on fast cavalry and firearms rather than elephant corps, and it offers a vivid metaphor for how we choose our tools and roles in modern work.

He made this point while watching me being driven around by my driver at a time when I was actually struggling for work, with more free time than assignments. I still have a driver, but that moment poked a hole in my comfort zone. It forced me to ask a difficult question: was I building a life of horses I could ride, or elephants that always needed someone else to move?

Since then, I have tried to be deliberately hands on in every role. As a project manager, that meant writing code myself, not just tracking timelines and updating status reports. As a digital cinema head, it meant standing inside theatres during installations, understanding how projectors, servers, and sound systems actually came together to create the experience on screen. As a digital head, it meant personally uploading videos and posting on social media instead of only approving campaigns from a distance. And now, it means writing code again—this time with AI applications as my “horses,” responsive tools that move where I nudge them, instead of “elephants” that someone else has to prod into motion.

There is a catch, though. Being hands on can slowly turn into being trapped in the weeds: replying to every email, touching every file, sitting in every meeting. You feel productive and in control, but the bigger picture—market shifts, long-term risks, strategic bets—starts to blur. The same closeness that gives confidence can also shrink your field of vision if you never step back.

So the balance, for me, is this: hands on is still the way to go, but not at the expense of perspective. The goal is to stay close enough to the work that you understand its texture and constraints, yet far enough back that you can see the whole battlefield and choose where to charge. Babur may have preferred horses to elephants, but he still needed a vantage point from which to see his entire army and the shape of the enemy line.

That is the leadership posture worth aiming for: one hand on the reins, the other pointing toward where everyone needs to go.

Laksh Online