Why does doing something new or different bring out such defenses in certain people? Is it insecurity? Or, fear maybe? But what could possibly be so scary about exploring new ways of doing things, especially if it means we discover ways to improve? So often when I am hired to train groups and teams I hear, No, that wont work. Weve already tried it. I just dont get it.

How can people think they know everything about everything all the time? Its one thing for aspiring fortune tellers, but professional business people? I dont think so.

Maybe its a simple matter of the world being made up of two types of people: the ones who say, why not? and the others who say, why bother? But I doubt that too.

No matter how many groups of open-minded, optimistic, and confident people there are, there always seems to be one who isnt. The problem is that the hijinks of one negative person who thinks he or she knows more than other people, is enough to sabotage just about any organizational effort.

As consultants, we're hired to improve organizational issues and effectiveness. Notice, the operative word here is improve. But when one rotten apple is able to distract others from matters at hand, they head those very opportunities off at the pass.

On the surface, it's hard to know if there is "problem" among us. That is, until we hear the first tsk come from the back of the meeting room. But since the culprit blends in so well and never - ever sits in plain view, it's still hard to know at first who he or she is.

So when his or her rolling eyes and heavy sighs graduate to note passing and whispering, the one has made him or herself known. In no time, if left to their own devices, these people will suck every last bit of energy from the room. The real challenge for trainers and managers alike is to figure out what to do about it.

The way I see it, we have a few choices:

1) we can remove them;
2) we can ignore them;
3) we can confront them and demand that they stop; or
4) we can try to help them understand their own issues in hopes to stretch them beyond their blinkered views.

Now I know that the first three seem to be the most direct, but they are also the least effective. Not to mention the fact that it is more humane to give someone a chance than to make snap judgments. If we arent open to understanding what makes these people so annoying, then we are as guilty as they are for being closed-minded.

So to really know the know-it-all and the degree to which he or she is afflicted, is to simply ask the question: Why is he or she doing it? Doing so will reveal the crucial answer: Can they or cant they change? Once his or her willingness to improve is determined, a proper strategy can be decided upon and implemented.

The thing is, that we will never know how high high is if we dont have the courage to admit that existing efforts might not be right or good enough, and that an open mind is the only way to challenge what we think we know. At least then the money invested in employees can show unhindered returns - now theres an idea.