OUT of Control: The Recently Retired Babyboomer Engineer

Feb. 1, 2009

Hi Walt,

Steve Allen said, "Jokes are funny when there is an element of truth in them."

 

Recently Retired Babyboomer Engineer

There is babyboomer engineer who has an exceptional gift for fixing all things mechanical. After serving his company loyally for over 30 years, he happily retired.

Hi Walt,

Steve Allen said, "Jokes are funny when there is an element of truth in them."

Recently Retired Babyboomer Engineer

There is babyboomer engineer who has an exceptional gift for fixing all things mechanical. After serving his company loyally for over 30 years, he happily retired.

Several weeks later the 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 service. They demanded an itemized accounting of his charges.

The engineer responded with the following account:

Chalk: $1

Knowing where to put it: $49,999

It was paid in full and the engineer retired again in peace. What does that tell you Mr. Employer?

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