Dilbert cartoon first published on Friday 28th March 2003

Dilbert//5095, first published 23 years ago on Friday 28th March 2003

Tags

downsize department phone list efficient list

Official transcript

Wally hands The Boss a sheet of paper and says, "I took the initiative and made a list of people you could downsize."

The Boss looks at the list and responds, "This is just the department phone list with your name covered up."

Wally says, "That's the sort of efficiency that kept me off the list."

originally published on dilbert.com

Open source transcript

I TOOK THE INITIATIVE AND MADE A LIST OF PEOPLE YOU COULD DOWNSIZE.

THIS IS JUST THE DEPARTMENT PHONE LIST WITH YOUR NAME COVERED UP.

THAT'S THE SORT OF EFFICIENCY THAT KEPT ME OFF THE LIST.

collated from github.com/jvarn/dilbert-archive

AI Analysis

Title: "The Department Phone List"

Summary:

The comic strip features Dilbert, a bespectacled office worker with a bald head and a green tie, standing in front of a man seated at a desk. The man is holding a piece of paper and appears to be listening to Dilbert's explanation.

• Dilbert: "I took the initiative and made a list of people you could downsize."
• Man: "This is just the department phone list with your name covered up."
• Dilbert: "That's the sort of efficiency that kept me off the list."

The comic strip humorously highlights the irony of Dilbert's attempt to save his job by creating a list of potential downsizing targets, only to be told that the list is simply a department phone list with his name covered up. The punchline emphasizes the absurdity of the situation and the futility of Dilbert's efforts to avoid being targeted for downsizing.

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

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