My friend and collaborator in The Odd Couple seminars, Alan Weiss, PhD told this story in one of his thoughtful weekly messages:

“There’s a small tailor shop run by one tailor on Main Street who has been there for forty years. The place is a mess. Everywhere you look there are threads, samples, and tools. He has to clear the counter to write out a receipt. He’s busy and he’s one-of-a-kind.
I brought him a jacket with a small rip on the lapel. Without even looking inside he felt the material and said, ‘This is cashmere and entirely handmade.’
He examined the rip and the fabric, hunted around, sweeping everything out of the way, searching for the right color and size thread, a needle, thimble, and scissors. I thought he’d tell me to leave it with him and get it back in a week.
Ten minutes later there was no defect visible at all. I watched him the entire time and still didn’t understand how he did that. No automation, no machines, just skill.
‘There,’ he said, as he finished.
I asked, ‘How much?’
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