A manufacturing plant was in full swing one day. The
company's massive machine was humming along, taking in the
raw materials at one end and churning out the finished
product at the other. All of a sudden, the machine stopped
and ground to a halt. Workers climbed all over it like ants
to get it started again. The plant's manager stormed out of
his office to find out why his multi-million-dollar machine
wasn't making him any money. He listened to his people
saying they couldn't figure it out, and he told them to call
a technician.
Soon a tech arrived, and the manager frantically explained
to him that he needed his machine back as soon as possible.
The technician listened patiently, took one look at the
massive hulk of motionless metal, and immediately walked
over to a small panel, opening a tiny door inside to see a
screw. The technician took a screwdriver and turned the
screw one-quarter turn to the right, and the machine
suddenly came back to life as if nothing was wrong.
The manager hurried over to thank the technician, shook his
hand, and asked what he owed him for saving his company. The
technician answered, "$100,000.00." The manager looked at
him and said, "You were here less then two minutes and just
turned one screw. How can you charge so much? Give me an
itemized bill."
The technician calmly wrote out on a piece of paper:
Turning of one screw: $1.00.
Knowing which screw to turn: $99,9999.00.
company's massive machine was humming along, taking in the
raw materials at one end and churning out the finished
product at the other. All of a sudden, the machine stopped
and ground to a halt. Workers climbed all over it like ants
to get it started again. The plant's manager stormed out of
his office to find out why his multi-million-dollar machine
wasn't making him any money. He listened to his people
saying they couldn't figure it out, and he told them to call
a technician.
Soon a tech arrived, and the manager frantically explained
to him that he needed his machine back as soon as possible.
The technician listened patiently, took one look at the
massive hulk of motionless metal, and immediately walked
over to a small panel, opening a tiny door inside to see a
screw. The technician took a screwdriver and turned the
screw one-quarter turn to the right, and the machine
suddenly came back to life as if nothing was wrong.
The manager hurried over to thank the technician, shook his
hand, and asked what he owed him for saving his company. The
technician answered, "$100,000.00." The manager looked at
him and said, "You were here less then two minutes and just
turned one screw. How can you charge so much? Give me an
itemized bill."
The technician calmly wrote out on a piece of paper:
Turning of one screw: $1.00.
Knowing which screw to turn: $99,9999.00.
