Henry was having a problem at his River Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan. Seems his in-house engineers couldn’t solve a problem with a gigantic generator so they called a man, known as the “little giant” who hung around with friends named Tesla, Einstein, and Edison. You see, Charles was an electrical engineering genius. But back to Ford’s problems.
Henry Ford needed the generator fixed, and fast.
Charles rejected all assistance from Ford’s skilled engineers and asked for only a notebook, a pencil, and a cot. He brought his own piece of chalk. He listened to the generator run, scribbled some computations in his notebook, and for two days and two nights listened and observed. Finally, he climbed up a ladder, made a chalk mark on the machine and told Ford’s skeptical engineer how to fix the problem. They did and it worked perfectly.
Henry was thrilled until he received Charles invoice for $10,000.
Balking at the bill, Henry asked for the bill to be itemized.
Chalk mark on the generator. – $1.00
Knowing where to make the mark. – $9,999.00
Your knowledge has value based on all your years of experience.
Never underestimate that value.
Learn more about Charles Steinmetz here: Charles Steinmetz
Good advice, Mark. I’ve used variations of that story to calm my nerves when a plumber or contractor comes in to fix something, then hits me with a bill that seems out of proportion.
Yes indeed Mark! That is why the magic is knowing who to call when a problem has you stumped! Great story!
Henry