35000 Ft above the earth

That's the minimum height required to be able to view the curvature of the earth; but you need a fairly wide field of view (i.e 60 degrees) and a virtually cloud-free horizon. The reality is that clouds, hills and mountains mean we rarely get to see the kind of perfectly flat horizon where the curve would be most obvious.

However, you can detect the curve of the Earth from ground level at the coast with a pair of binoculars – just look for distant ships on the horizon and you’ll see that their hulls start to disappear before their masts and other superstructure. Ancient Greek scientists, who spotted this without any optical aids, used this to conclude that the Earth was round. Its a different matter we may not have the time to keep gazing at the horizon for the ships to appear in their full glory. And if you are landlocked the sojourn can only happen with your eyes closed.

How is this pertinent to Business?

Very.

As we keep chugging along our day to day rigmarole of managing our jobs and fulfilling our corporate responsibilities. we nary get the time to levitate ourselves above the din of our daily work. It happens right up the totem pole and even CEO s get drawn in the quagmire. The focus becomes achieving the next months target, evolving into a quarterly achievement and for more far sighted Chieftains it seldom crosses a year. The urge to see beyond the horizon is strong but the lack of time and surprisingly to some extent lack of perspective makes this an impossible task. Even if we hop aboard a hot air balloon, while the curvature would be visible, but it would be marred by our experiential lens of managing that company.

We need an outsider; an expert, and ideally someone who has seen the curvatures of planets beyond earth. For this guy will bring a new perspective in a holistic manner seasoned with experiences of other worlds.

This species is the "Consultant". Someone who is used to flying high and seeing the worlds pass by, below her. The holy union of knowledge and perspective has been solemnized, and he is in a sweet spot of providing new and fresher perspectives.

Being "in" the situation, and being "above" it is not the same. It is simply about what is the focus of your lens. while you might be using a microscope to see each issue in its minutest detail, she will be using a binoculars from far away to see the form and shape of the organisation.

CEO s are expected to work from within the organisation and not "upon" it leaving them with the unenviable task of working to create something and yet having the critiques eye to do an honest appraisal. Also, this is often limited by the "Industry expertise" of the CEO, a precondition for her to be bestowed with the role and yet being a limiting factor in bringing new and fresher perspectives, often tried and tested in other industries.

The "Consultant" brings about the holy trinity of Knowledge, Multi industry experience and the benefit of being an outsider.

And yet this outsider can do wonders for the well being and growth of the Organisation.