The role of consultants is to prove someone right or wrong. More often than not, a consultant is brought in not because the organization doesn't have a clue. But this person doesn't have the clout or salary to be taken seriously. So this person, if lucky, convinces senior management to bring in a consultant to say the same thing this person's been saying for three months. Except now it costs more, so it must be true.
Consultants charge by the syllable.
Well, not really. But Emily has definitely noticed that many consultants' fees have a direct correlation with the relative use of long words. Many consultants have never actually done what they're suggesting. Like the UPS commercial, some lifelong consultants have never actually implemented one of their own plans in a real situation in a real company. Most plans are based on best-case scenarios of no politics, no labor strikes, and no budget cutbacks.