Dilbert and Management Jokes

When I prepare people for my presentation, I pass out a notecard with a joke on one side, and a feedback form on the other. I have found that this is very effective in loosening up the room before I start talking. The joke I put on my card is this:

A man in a hot air balloon is lost. He sees a man on the ground and reduces height to speak to him. "Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?"

"You're in a hot air balloon hovering thirty feet above this field," comes the reply.

"You must work in Information Technology," says the balloonist.

"I do," says the man, "How did you know?"

"Well," says the balloonist, "Everything you told me is technically correct, but it's no use to anyone."

"You must work in Management," says the man.

"I am," says the balloonist, "How did you know?"

"Well," says the man, "You don't know where you are, you don't know where you're going, but you expect me to be able to help. You're in the same position you were before we met, but now it's my fault."

A person who had been to one of my speeches recently emailed me this Dilbert cartoon. He said it reminded him of my presentation! It's a good sign that not only did he remember my presentation, but he is still thinking about it now! Here is the cartoon.