A rich man had a boat. It was a luxurious cruiser that cost millions of pounds and he used it to promote his standing in the business community to impress his guests and prospective business partners.
“Let’s face it, everyone wants to do business with someone who looks successful”, said the millionaire.
One day, prior to an important business meeting that he was planning on his boat, his engineer approached him and told him that the engine wouldn’t start.
The businessman told the engineer to do whatever it took to get the engine started and the boat seaworthy, because of the importance of the meeting that he was having.
A while later the engineer came back and said that no one he had spoken to could get the engine started.
"Then find someone", said the businessman. "Tell them I’ll pay whatever it costs, but I need the engine to work".
So the engineer phoned everyone he knew and many qualified engineers arrived at the boat equipped with all of the most modern and up to date diagnostic equipment money could buy, but none of them could get the boat to start or identify the fault.
In desperation the businessman went to a small quayside cafe and sat down with a cup of coffee and a local paper to try and think of a solution to his predicament.
Whilst reading the local paper he came across a small advert that said: “Local marine engineer for hire. If your boat won’t start call me. I can fix anything".
Initially the businessman smirked at the advert and nearly dismissed it. He had a highly qualified engineer employed on his boat full time that knew the engine. He couldn’t get the engine to start, and his engineer had brought in some of his peers who were more qualified than him and they couldn’t get it to start. So what chance was there that some local ‘tradesman’, a ‘not known’ no-body, could do it?
However, due to the desperation of the situation he decided to call the number in the ad.
A time was arranged and on time a short, scruffy and unkempt looking guy turned up with a small bag of tools.
The engineer in his neatly pressed and gleaming white overalls looked at the businessman and shook his head in disbelief.
As the local tradesman stepped into the boat he said to the businessman that he hadn’t asked him his price for fixing the fault.
“If you can get the engine to start I’ll pay you whatever your fee is”, said the businessman.
“It’s £10,000,” said the scruffy engineer.
The businessman said ok, somewhat sure that his money was safe in that this scruffy unkempt local guy would have no chance in fixing the fault and getting the engine to start, especially when so many highly qualified engineers had already failed.
The local guy went below, quickly followed by the businessman and his engineer. He walked around the engine compartment touching and feeling various pipes and engine parts. He put a listening device to some parts of the machinery and eventually he said he had found the fault and could fix it.
He then took a small hammer out of his bag and hit one of the pipes attached to the engine and the engine started straight way.
The businessman was completely shocked, as was his engineer, and stood there in complete disbelief at what he had just witnessed.
Then the local guy took out a pen and a small notepad and write his invoice, which said, 'for fixing the fault and getting the engine to start: £10,000' as agreed'.
The businessman, not wanting to look as if he had been duped asked the local guy to give him an invoice with a breakdown of exactly how he was justifying his £10,000 fee.
The local guy took out his notepad once more and duly wrote:
'For hitting the pipe with the hammer: £5.00.
For having the information, knowledge and experience of knowing what to hit, exactly where to hit it and with what degree of force: £9,995.00.'
The moral of the story is that the most powerful tool in the world is information and as Benjamin Disraeli once wrote: “As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information.”
