An apocryphal consultant story.
An electronics company and a critical chip; an in-house design that can't be made to work.
A consultant is brought in and shown the specs. The problem is difficult; the consultant can't see a way to solve it.
In the cab back to the airport, an epiphany. The consultant works up his design and returns to present it to the chief engineer.
The internal team examines it. The chief engineer is dismissive: "Your design is slower than mine."
The consultant explodes in exasperation: "But your design doesn't work. If we're allowed to submit designs which don't work, trust me, I can provide you with a design twice as fast as yours!"
