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'''Dilbert:''' [[Stealth Insult|They remind me of you, sir]].|''[[Dilbert]]''}}
The living embodiment of [[The Peter Principle]]. This is a person who has been promoted way beyond his level of competency. He or she may have had a clue at some point, but has since then misplaced it. Sometimes
Often the result of being [[Kicked Upstairs]]. [[Incompetence, Inc.]] is a likely place to find PHBs. Occasionally he is surrounded by ''very'' competent workers when [[Conservation of Competence]] is in effect.
Very often such a boss is portrayed as not only incompetent, but also a little evil:
Occasionally he'll also hold the title of [[Benevolent Boss]] as well if his incompetence is more towards the job than
All too often this is [[Truth in Television]].
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Comic Strips ==
* The [[Trope
** According to Scott Adams's 1996 book ''The Dilbert Principle'', the truly Pointy-Haired Boss is a reflection of the ''abandonment'' of the aforementioned Peter Principle. In the past, competent people were promoted until they reached a position just barely overreaching their talents; now, however, the ''absolutely'' incompetent are ''immediately'' [[Kicked Upstairs]] -- where, kept out of contact with the customer base and daily work load, they will do the least harm.
** Adams draws just about ''every'' manager with pointy hair. A minimum of 99% of them are lesser reflections of the original. Interestingly the PHB was originally a unnamed balding manager who was more [[Characterization Marches On|cruel than stupid]]. Then one day Adams accidentally drew the hair on the sides of his head slightly pointy and thought the resemblance to devil horns to be eerily appropriate. Then he started making him gradually more stupid while his hair kept getting pointier. And the rest is history. There's been the odd strip that actually ''sympathizes'' with the PHB and have him getting angry or frustrated for good reason. Presumably such instances come from the occasions when Adams solicits ideas from his readers, and a boss or manager was the one who got his attention.
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