Knowing your worth: Where to tap your hammer.

I used this old tale as a response to a customer who was asking me for that age-old advice "just point me in the right direction" after refusing a service and maintenance contract. You've heard it before, but as a consultant, it rings true it seems multiple times per day.

The story goes that there was an old boilermaker who worked on an aged steamship. The crew had it's operation down to a science. Upon hearing of budget cuts by the ship's owner, the oldest, wisest, and most well-paid engineer got his walking papers.

A call comes in that desperate help is needed as the vessel is stuck in port due to a mechanical issue. The boilermaker responds dutifully. After listening to the description of the problem and asking a few questions of his own, he resigns to the engine room. Inspecting the twisting and turning pipes by hand, listening quietly, and after some thought, he pulls a hammer out of his toolbag and taps gently on a small red valve. Almost immediately the entire machine roars to life and the engineer returned to his home.

When the owner of the vessel received a bill totaling $1,000 he was beside himself. As only a half hour or so was spent in the engine room, the ship's owner couldn't understand why it was so expensive. He wrote to the engineer demanding an itemized copy of this "extravagant" bill.

A few days later, the ship's owner received a simple itemized invoice:

Labor, tapping valve: $.50 

Knowing where to tap: $999.50

TOTAL: $1,000.00

There are many folks in every industry that are experts at tapping valves, but there seem to only be a few that know exactly where to tap it. Know your craft, know your worth.