Once upon a time there was a shepherd tending his sheep at the edge of a country road. A brand new Mustang screeches to a halt next to him. The driver, a young man dressed in an Armani suit, Cerrutti shoes, Oakley glasses, TAG wrist watch and a Bhs tie gets out and asks the shepherd, ‘If I guess how many sheep you have, will you give me one of them?’ The shepherd looks at the young man, then looks at the sprawling field of sheep and says, ‘Okay.’ The young man parks the car, connects his notebook and wireless modem, enters a NASA site, scans the ground using his GPS, opens a database and 60 Excel tables filled with algorithms, then prints a 150 page report on his high tech mini printer. He then turns to the shepherd and says, ‘You have exactly 1,586 sheep here.’ The shepherd answers: ‘That’s correct, you can have your sheep.’ The young man takes one of the animals and puts it in the back of his vehicle. The shepherd looks at him and asks: ‘Now, if I guess your profession, will you pay me back in kind?’ The young man answers: ‘Sure.’ The shepherd says, ‘You are a consultant.’ ‘Exactly! How did you know?’ asks the young man. ‘Very simple,’ answers the shepherd. ‘First, you came here without being called. Second, you charged me a fee to tell me something I already knew. Third, you do not understand anything about my business ... and I’d really like to have my dog back.’
The Collins English Dictionary reveals that to consult is to make oneself available to give professional advice, especially at scheduled times and for a fee. The term ‘consult’ originates in the medical profession. There a consultant is a physician who is asked to confirm a diagnosis; or it is a physician (or surgeon) who holds the highest appointment in a particular branch of medicine or surgery in a hospital. The consultant is therefore someone – mostly a specialist – who is asked to give expert advice or information.
