Dilbert cartoon first published on Sunday 13th September 1998

Dilbert//3438, first published 28 years ago on Sunday 13th September 1998

Tags

annual inspirational talk work hard competition feel afraid quality of lives too afraid management incompetetnce

Official transcript

The Boss stands in casual clothes and says, "It's time for my annual inspirational talk."

The Boss says, "We must work twice as hard, or the competition will crush us!"

Dilbert, Wally and Alice sit in front of the Boss as he continues, "I want you to feel afraid twenty-four hours a day."

Dilbert raises his hand and says, "Question: wouldn't hat lower the quality of our lives?"

Wally says, "Seems like it might."

Wally continues, "I'm too afraid to work here now. I wonder if our competitor's are hiring?"

Alice raises her hand and asks, "Question: should we continue to be afraid of our own management's incompetence?"

The Boss replies, "Let's compromise. I'll agree to cut the meeting short if you'll all agree to feel worse in some way."

The Boss leaves the meeting and thinks, "No I remember why I only inspire them once a year."

originally published on dilbert.com

Open source transcript

IT'S TIME FOR MY ANNUAL INSPIRATIONAL TALK!

WE MUST WORK TWICE AS HARD, OR THE COMPETITION WILL CRUSH US!

I WANT YOU TO FEEL AFRAID TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY!

QUESTION: WOULDN'T THAT LOWER THE QUALITY OF OUR LIVES?

SEEMS LIKE IT MIGHT I'M TOO AFRAID TO WORK HERE NOW. I WONDER IF OUR COMPETITORS ARE HIRING.

QUESTION: SHOULD WE CONTINUE TO BE AFRAID OF OUR OWN MANAGEMENT'S INCOMPETENCE?

LET'S COMPROMISE.

I'LL CUT THE MEETING SHORT IF YOU'LL ALL AGREE TO FEEL WORSE IN SOME WAY.

NOW I REMEMBER WHY I ONLY INSPIRE THEM ONCE A YEAR

collated from github.com/jvarn/dilbert-archive

AI Analysis

The comic strip, originally published in 1999, presents a humorous critique of corporate culture and the monotony of daily work life.

Title: "I'm Too Afraid to Work Here Now"

Summary:

• The comic strip follows a meeting where employees discuss their fear of being incompetent and the pressure to work long hours.
• One employee suggests cutting the meeting short, but is met with resistance from others who want to continue discussing their fears.
• The comic strip pokes fun at the corporate culture of fear and the absurdity of long meetings.
• The final panel shows the employee remembering why they only inspire them once a year, implying that the meeting has not been productive or inspiring.

generated by llama-3.2-11b-vision-instruct

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