This is a true story of 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. One of their multi-million dollar machines wasn't working and no one knew how to fix it. The engineer reluctantly took the challenge. He spent the following day studying the huge machine. At the end of the day, he marked a small "x" in chalk on one particular component of the machine and proudly stated, "Replace this part and the machine will work again." The part was replaced and, sure enough, the machine worked like a charm, once again.
Some time later, the company received a bill for services rendered in the amount of $50,000. The company was astounded and so they demanded an itemized accounting of the engineer's charges. The engineer followed up with a letter which summarizeded the $50,000 invoice:
One chalk mark $1
Knowing where to put it $49,999
The bill was paid.