There was an engineer who had an exceptional gift
for fixing all mechanical things. 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 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 services. They demanded an
itemised accounting of his charges. The engineer
responded briefly:
One chalk mark ............. $1
Knowing where to put it..... $49,999