Henry Ford once paid the equivalent of $250,000 for a single X in chalk, and it was worth it.
When one of the gigantic generators at his plant broke down, Ford sent for Charles Steinmetz. Charles was one of the more prominent original scientific thinkers of his era, and Ford hoped he could figure out what was wrong.
Steinmetz spent two days and nights listening to the generator and running calculations. On the second night, Steinmetz climbed a ladder up the generator’s side and marked an X in chalk on one of the access plates. “You must remove the plate and replace the sixteen windings,” he said. He then went home.
The generator worked, and Ford was thrilled until he got the bill. Ford was unpleasantly surprised. “Send me an itemized bill,” he said.
Steinmetz had billed him for $10,000 — roughly equivalent to $250,000 today. Steinmetz sent the following:
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- Making chalk mark on generator $1.
- Knowing where to make the chalk mark $9,999.
Ford paid the bill — because he understood the value of skilled help.