[koffiezet]

> Part of the fiction management sells itself is consultants can cut across those organizational boundaries and find the 'right solution'.

Being a consultant, and knowing multiple others, I feel that not being part of the company "tribes", really allows you to more easily cut across those organizational boundaries you mention.

How many times I've heard of 2 technical divisions complaining about each-other where the main issue is the lack of communication and simply not knowing who to talk to in the other "tribe". Consultants however are part of their own little 'consultant tribe' across company tribe boundaries, who more easily bond together and talk about stuff like that. This means this group is more diverse and has more contacts spread throughout the organization, making them ideal to cut trough the bullshit. You also have the fact that when a company was happy about a consultant, chances are that when they need someone somewhere else, they'll hire the same consultant again, dumping them in a completely different group of people.

Yes this is 100% a social problem, but it's there, and a group of outsiders will address this more efficiently.