Remember my potential fourth business partner? The brother of our third business partner? If not, then check out my blog 10 Traits Of Negative People To Be Mindful Of When Choosing A Business Partner. Here you’ll be able to get some background on him. 

He liked learning. He liked learning about any random thing on YouTube. But he was always a blocker in anything we did. Why? Because he had the attitude of a ‘Mr. Know it All’. Such people will cause problems in business, as they believe they know everything. This simply means not listening to other people’s perspectives, not being open-minded and doing extra research to dig deep. 

Whilst the ‘Mr. Know it All’ attitude was a challenge, we also had another issue to deal with. We had to be careful as he was our third business partner’s brother. We didn’t want to offend him in any way. We had to practise calm and composure in every situation. He wasn’t a business partner, yet he had a say in everything as he used to sit in on every meeting to support his brother. 

Every time we would present a proposition, he would jump in and start shredding the idea to pieces. Thankfully, he wasn’t our business partner, which meant he didn’t have a vote in anything we wanted to do. But he was very good at planting seeds in his brother’s mind, which meant issues for our business going forward. 

Eventually, there came a time when me and my brother had to tell our third business partner that it was time for his brother to stop sitting in on our meetings going forward.

So what’s the problem? When you partner up with someone who ‘thinks’ they know everything, then know that they will cause problems. The attitude in most cases stems from their insecurities and they use their knowledge to gain a sense of superiority and control. Because they don’t have any achievements of their own, their knowledge becomes a mantlepiece for them to highlight and display to others, as a means to justify their contribution and thus achievements. 

How do we deal with such ‘Mr. Know it Alls’? 

Here are my top 7 tips 

1. Be empathetic with them. Try to understand their feelings. 
2. Ask question after question. There will be a time when they won’t know the answers to certain questions. That’s the time when you’ll have the upper hand as you would have planted seeds of doubt in their mind. 
3. Keep it light. Keep it cool. No need to lose control. Stay calm and collected. 
4. Research your topic of discussion thoroughly. Throw your facts and figures at them. 
5. Be selective in your criticism. If you criticise every single thing, they’ll feel attacked and would become defensive. 
6. Set a good example for them. They might pick up some good points from you. 
7. Observe the situation and see if you can offer constructive criticism about their approach. But do it in a very empathetic manner. Don’t be patronising. Be supportive. Show that you care.  

Conclusion 

I would avoid a “Mr. Know-it-All’ in business, especially when you can buy expertise. The ‘Mr. Know-it-Alls’ would cause blockers and can be very difficult to deal with. 

You’ll have to convince them of everything before a decision can be taken. 

If they are in middle management, then it may not be too bad, as their expertise could be used for the betterment of the business. But having them in key decision-making situations, especially when they have an equity stake in the business, could cause a lot of problems for the board.

In any business, you need people who are active listeners, good communicators and take constructive criticism well. If the ‘Mr. Know-it-Alls’ have these traits, then this is something you can work with, and their expertise will become an advantage for the business.