The case for an outsider in the room

Capable leadership teams develop shared assumptions. That is part of what makes them effective: they move quickly because they do not relitigate the basics.

It is also their blind spot.

What an outsider adds

An independent adviser has no history to defend, no budget to protect and no promotion at stake. That makes it easier to ask the obvious question everyone has stopped asking, and to say plainly what the data suggests.

Using an adviser well

• Bring them in before the decision, not after. Validation is the least valuable thing an adviser can offer.
• Give them access to dissent. The most useful conversations are with the people who disagree with the plan.
• Ask for a recommendation, not a menu. Options are easy. A clear view, with reasons, is what you are paying for.

The best advisory relationships are short on ceremony and long on candour. That is the standard we hold ourselves to at Consult AJX.