Steve Jobs was talking at MIT and was asking the audience where they came from. He was disappointed that manufacturing was better represented and that most were consultants. His complaint abount consultants sounded like:
Well he got it wrong from the definition. Sadly it’s not his fault but more that the industry has changed.
The first thing that he got wrong is that consultants are meant to bring their experience and knowledge to a customer and accomplish some set of goals whether it’s training or development etc… Consultants are meant to be [SME] Subject Matter Experts. Jobs seems to be talking about WorkForce Augmentation.
Second their view of the project they have been assigned to is based on their world view and not necessarily the world view of the company so while the company might be selling fruit a two dimensional view might be enough to complete the task.
Lastly, while the cost is variable the results can be priceless if you hore the right people. As a SME/contractor at IBM in the 1990s I saved them millions. And whether you’re talking about WFA or SME companies want these people because when done right they lighten the purden on the company of permanent employees. Whether that’s HA, insurance, compensation, management, and all the other things.