A small factory had to stop operations when an essential piece of machinery broke down. No one could fix it, so they had to call an expert in toserviceit. The expert looked over the situation for a moment, then took a small hammer and gently tapped the machine at a certain spot. The machine immediately began to run again and kept running as if nothing had ever been wrong.

When the expert submitted his bill for $1,000.00, the plant supervisor hit the ceiling and demanded and itemized bill.

The bill the expert submitted was as follows:

For tapping the machine............ $      1.00

For knowing where to tap.......... $ 999.00

One day a father told his son that his retirement was not too far in the future. "Soon this business will be all yours son," said the father, "and I want you to know the 3 secrets to my success; service, reliability, and wisdom. First, always give the best possible service. Second, part of good service is being reliable. If you promise something, you must deliver. Even if it costs you overtime, double time, golden time. Always deliver what you promise."

His son thought about this for a moment, and then asked, "What about wisdom?"

With a twinkle in his eye the father replied, "Wisdom is never making stupid promises."