His point about the unhappy client rings a bell. I've encountered situations where a client wants a particular answer from a consultant and, when it isn't forthcoming, wants to shoot the messenger. There really is no choice in such cases. You have to be honest and possibly brutally honest.
One scenario not mentioned: When, in order to be ethical, you have to appear foolish. Consider the following: You are hired to appear on a program with another professional. The other person takes a number of cheap (and what you feel are ignorant) shots at your expense. Do you:
- Respond in kind and let the program disintegrate into a street fight?
- Ignore the shots even though some may feel that doing so concedes their validity?
- Point out the specific areas of dispute and indirectly raise the question of why two experts who conflict were brought in?
On those rare occasions when this has occurred, my approach has been the second option. It's never been enjoyable but it focuses on presenting a better program for the client. I've never regretted it.
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