The most under-appreciated and  under-valued component of consulting must be the simple objectivity of its external view. 

Yet that value is often not recognised, leveraged or compensated for by the very business it can most serve.

The embracing of objective views is even used as a measure of success by top consultants in most business areas. Organizations that resist external perspectives are flagged as risk-averse and growth-limited.

If you’re engaging consultants in whatever area of expertise, don’t limit your ROI by looking to control their input. Instead, embrace the different, and examine how much value it can bring on its own terms through pure objectivity.