I have met only a few truly difficult people to work with in my 25+ years career. Most were simply incompetent while stubbornly believing they were rock stars.

I have met only a few truly difficult people to work with in my 25+ years career. Most were simply incompetent while stubbornly believing they were rock stars. No amount of negotiation or gentle discussions work with those kind of people. And the rest were basically passive aggressive sociopathic control freaks. Again, no amount of talking/negotiation worked with those people. I have literally tried everything. To them trying to talk/negotiate/find common ground is a sign of weakness and a signal for them to double down on their controlling behaviour. Because it is obviously working :) So now I simply block/avoid/deflect people like that and treat them like kids that needs to be disciplined to behave. That works so much better!