Category Archives: Wisdom

Henry Ford and Charlie Steinmetz

“Do you remember the story of Henry Ford and Charlie Steinmetz? Steinmetz was a dwarf, ugly and deformed, but he had one of the greatest minds in the field of electricity that the world has ever known.. Steinmetz built the great generators for Henry Ford in his first plant in Dearborn, Michigan. One day these generators broke down and the plant came to a halt. They brought in ordinary mechanics and helpers who couldn’t get the generators going again. They were losing money. Then Ford called Steinmetz. The genius came, seem to just putter around for a few hours, and then threw the switch that put the great Ford plant back into operation.
“A few days later Henry Ford received a bill from Steinmetz for $10,000. Although Ford was a very rich man, he returned the bill with a note, ‘Charlie, isn’t this bill just a little high for a few hours of tinkering around on those motors?’

“Steinmetz returned the bill to Ford. This time it read: ‘For tinkering around on the motors: $10. For knowing where to tinker: $9,990. Total: $10,000.’ Henry Ford paid the bill.
David Seamans from the book Healing of Damages Emotions

Quoted from www.wvillage.com/LIV-Seamands.html