Dear FF: that URL required leading a single line a mile long. I found another URL about a Phi Beta Kappa address, which gave the same attribution to Steinmetz:
But, how do we value our engineers? This anecdote, which some of you know, may shed
some light on that question. Legend has it that long after Charles Steinmetz retired from GE
he got a panicky request from a GE employee to come fix what was wrong with a complex
system of machines that had broken down. Steinmetz agreed and came to the facility. He
walked around testing the various machines, and then took a piece of chalk out of his pocket
and marked an 'x' on a specific spot on one particular machine. The GE people took that
machine apart and found that the defect lay exactly beneath Steinmetz' 'x.'
Shortly after that, GE received a bill for $10, 000 for services rendered. Management
protested the amount and asked for an itemization. Steinmetz' bill read as follows:
Making one chalk mark -- $1; knowing where to make it -- $9, 999.
