Dear Editor, Your article on 5 September ‘Consultants - who needs them?’ gives a very one-sided view of our profession. We consultant are often criticised for using management buzzwords to sell our services. The critics ‘ 1 is that we dress up an will 2 their business. So when we encourage companies to ‘analyse their value chain’, we are saying nothing more than ‘see which part of the business is most profitable’. When we 3 them to ‘empower their employee’, we are just saying 4 them to do a good job. The terms we use, the critics say, is just jargon for things that all businesses know they have to do anyway. We’re also accused 5 hypocrisy. The classic example of this is when during the 1990s consultancy firms told companies to concentrate on their core competencies and outsource non-essential activities to contractors who could do a better and cheaper job. But, the critics scream, you 6 a lot of the early 1980s telling companies to diversify and get involved in new businesses. Maybe we are sometimes guilty of following the 7 trends in management, but I have one 8 simple answer for the critics. Knowing the need for these management concepts and practices is one thing; actually using them and 9 them is another. Our job is to remind businesses to do the things they ought to be doing. That is the role of consultants and it’s a very 10 role. We’re not saying managers are stupid, but just that it’s human nature sometimes to ignore the obvious. John Birdman (Partner - Salix Associates)