That's a good question and yes! I think the thing to consider is: is the problem that no one internally knows what to do? Or is the problem that there are blockers to execution or communication? So for example, I know a few people who are experts in government procurement, this is a perfect space to hire a consultant. The ins and outs of selling to government are so complicated, so difficult and painful to master... it's extremely unlikely that anyone without prior experience will be able to pull it off without expert help.

I think if you hire a consultant with realistic expectations of how that consultant is going to add value it's not necessarily a bad choice. My frustration is that organizations treat consultants like a magic wand that means they can continue ignoring the problem and dismissing or belittling their own people.