Retired Engineer
There was an engineer who had an exceptional gift for fixing
all
things mechanical. After serving his company loyally for over 30
years, he happily retired. Several years later his company
contacted him regarding a seemingly impossible problem they were
having with one of their multi-million dollar machines. They had
tried everything and everyone else to get the machine fixed, but
to no avail. In desperation, they called on the retired engineer
who had solved so many of their problems in the past.
The engineer was enjoying his retirement and did not want to
go back to work, but after they begged him to come back as a
consultant he reluctantly took the challenge. He spent a day
studying the huge machine. At the end of the day he marked a
small x in chalk on a particular component of the machine and
proudly stated, "This is where your problem is". The
part was
replaced and the machine worked perfectly again.
The company received a bill for $50,000 from the engineer for
his
service. They demanded an itemized accounting of his charges.
The engineer responded briefly:
One chalk mark .. ..... ..... $1
Knowing where to put it ..... $49,999
It was paid in full and the engineer retired in peace
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