Kent Lineback in a recent Harvard Business post talks about the difficulty to convince his boss and colleagues about the need for fundamental changes the company needed to make. They essentially were comfortable with the way things were even it meant losing market share and profits.  They couldn’t see the problem or were in denial. So they did the normal thing – they hired a consultant.

After the consultant made his report, Kent approached him and said "What do you think is going on? Every time I make the same points you just did; people nod their head, yawn.  It’s a NATO organization; you know No Action – Talk Only kind of place.  The consultant said, “You made good and accurate points but you didn’t build any bridges.”