March 20, 2025
When deciding to invest in engaging an outside consultant or advisor, a common concern among most business leaders is justifying in their own minds the possible cost of professional services.
Since business owners and senior managers are paid to do many of the things that outside consultants and advisors often do, ego issues may occasionally need to be addressed, as well.
Good advisors can save companies lots of time and money not only by delivering business-building ideas but also by helping companies avoid mistakes and errors. The following story helps illustrate just one way the value of outside advice can and should be considered.
Fable of the Vibrating Machine and the Consultant
A manufacturing company was having a great deal of trouble with vibrations on its assembly line. It had run all sorts of trials to solve its problem, to no avail. The vibrations were costing the company hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in quality defects and accelerated wear on its equipment.
The company had brought in several “experts,” but none of them solved the problem. Many claimed to know everything about the machinery, yet they spent lots of time and charged a lot of money without solving the problem.
Just about when the company was ready to give up and resign itself to accepting the vibration problem as “just a cost of doing business,” an advisor was referred to the company by a business associate who had a similar problem the advisor had fixed.
The advisor arrived at the factory with a small toolbox and before going to the machine asked the machine operator and superintendent a series of questions. She then went to the machine and took out a bolt, nut, and washer. The consultant drilled a small hole, inserted the bolt, and fastened it with the washer and nut. The vibration problem was solved.
The next week, the factory owner received a bill from the consultant for $20,000. He immediately demanded that the advisor provide him with an itemized statement because the superintendent told him that the advisor was in the plant for 15 minutes and the only parts used were a nut, a bolt, and a washer.
The advisor asked the factory owner if the vibration problem was solved and was assured that it was. After this assurance, the advisor said she would gladly provide an itemized bill. Her invoice, which arrived at the manufacturer’s office several days later, looked like this:
The advisor had solved a vibration problem that was costing hundreds of thousands of dollars in quality defects and accelerated part wear. Fixing the problem for $20,000 was indeed a bargain.
The moral of the story is don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish. When you are questioning the value of working with an advisor, don’t just ask yourself about the expense. Consider what is at stake for your clients and what pain you could avoid, or what you potentially stand to gain from the advice.
You can spend lots of money and perhaps eventually solve a problem through trial and error; however, with an investment in a good advisor who has “been there and done that,” you can often gain a great deal from their experiences at a lower cost and with less risk than spending your valuable time and money on trial and error.
Please remember, Ralph Young and I are no-cost technical advisory resources to all current AICC members.
Tom Weber is president of WeberSource LLC and is AICC’s folding carton and rigid box technical advisor. Contact Tom directly at asktom@AICCbox.org.
