[oldE]

I once had a consultant advise me,"A consultant is someone who looks at your watch and tells you what time it is."

The company I spent 2 1/2 decades with brought in consultants three times during that period. It was embarrasing for us and them, I thought.

Before the last episode, I was at head office one day when the fire alarm went off. While in the parking lot, I was chewing the fat with an executive assistant while a third (sort of familiar looking fellow listened) and said, "I can't believe they're talking about bringing in consultants! If we don't have enough talent inside that building to do what needs to be done, we've got the wrong people."
Back inside the EA advised me the fellow looking on was the chairman of the board.

What Sammyg2 said is all too true. There is a culture in many companies which assumes someone who gets a management salary must have all the answers. A manager doesn't need to have the answers, he/she just has to have the brains to get them out of whoever knows, be it co-workers, line workers or what have you. I have seen too many managers refuse to listen to a great idea because it was suggested by someone who made an hourly wage. That kind of bigotry will come back to bite you on the a$$.

Les