Paying a consultant to state the obvious

In the process of wrapping up a five-year consulting business (entirely small time consulting, but nonetheless successful), I stumbled upon another Universal Truth. 

Companies invariably value the opinion of The Consultant over the expertise of their own employees.

Why is this?  The employees I have encountered are plugged in to the corporate culture, the overall industry, and the day-to-day challenges facing a given organization in a way that The Consultant can never be. 

Yes, The Consultant sometimes has the advantage of seeing things from the outside.  They're not in the trenches every day, absorbed in deadlines and details.  The Consultant sometimes has a "best practices" advantage in their area of expertise... having worked, I imagine, with many similar organizations facing the same issues.  The Consultant is not bogged down by whatever culture, operational heirarchies, territorial issues and sacred cows that work together to create the landscape that employees have no choice but to operate within.

All too often, however, The Consultant is given an inordinate amount of credence simply for stating the obvious. 

I wonder how many employers could save a buck - - and quite possibly end up with even stronger results - - if they empowered their own key leaders to become "consultant for a month."  Seriously.  Take the everyday workload and set it aside at a feasible time, and grant the right employees an opportunity to share their insight. 

I know there are many companies where this wouldn't work.  Not every employee, even a great one, can think out of the box.  Or even wants to.  But some of the places I've encountered would do well to plug into what their own people have been telling them all along, instead of bringing in a fancypants outsider to pitch the same ideas.

That said, it's been a fanstastic ride, and having the freedom to be the person charged with thinking creatively about organizational issues has suited me perfectly.  I applaud any employer willing to listen and make changes - - wherever the source of their guidance.  The people I've worked for have been amazing, and I highly recommend consulting as an interesting and challenging line of work. 

Ultimately, I hope my stint as The Consultant makes me a better employee, now that I'm taking off my fancy pants and leaping back over to the other side of the fence.