Lessons not learnt

Experience is gained by learning valuable lessons, and being open to learning more. Time is not the sole measure of experience, a certification does not prove you can apply what you have been taught, and a business title alone is certainly not commands respect.

I don't care if someone has been in an industry for five, fifteen or fifty years. If they are not open to giving someone else with a difference of opinion to speak, not willing to listen to suggestions for improvement (or listen at all for that matter), or allow an intellectual conversation to take place because they already made a decision - and hell no, decisions can't be changed... their experience means nothing as far as I'm concerned.

If they haven't realised in all their grand years (often mistaken as experience, and sometimes more outrageously mistaken as wisdom), that valuable learnings can often be gained from others if only they had an open mind to catch it, then I'm not interested in learning from them.