I have been working recently with a colleague who is a non-exec on a couple of companies that I work with, both companies have faced problems and it has been interesting observing his input and contribution.  As someone who is always an outsider, I normally don’t get to see this perspective.  In the first company, which he had asked from my help with, he has been there a while and was concerned that they were in a hole and still digging.  I have worked for the second company for over 12 years, so I know them well and he recently joined that board. 

I ran a big meeting in the first company, and he and another non-exec were invited to provide external perspective and gravitas.  They are both successful business people and were listened to as such.  They were able to ask questions and pass observations which were seen as much more neutral than if an insider had asked the same thing.  Also they had much less of a stake in the business so they could walk away from it without being burnt, whereas for all the other participants this was life or death.  The power of this neutrality is significant, and I have long observed that it is not only invaluable, but often essential in order to get change to happen.

In the second company, he drilled down in to their figures in a way that no one else round the table was capable of, and he had not only the knowledge but the standing to do so.  Both companies are better off for these contributions.

I’m sure your company is filled with bright, knowledgeable people, but a leavening of external wisdom and expertise can hugely increase their potential.