The most important tactic that you must apply in helping change Withdrawn Einsteins is to stick to an action plan that brings out the best in them. Provide opportunities and encouragement. Gradually, the Einsteins will take over the transformation process when the benefits clearly outweigh the costs.

Managers don't have to fret, worry or sit idly by when confronted with difficult workers. These six types of difficult Einsteins are the responsibility of managers who decide to manage them instead of just becoming passive observers.

(Tom Duening and Jack Ivancevich are co-authors of Managing Einsteins: Leading High Tech Workers in the Digital Age (McGraw-Hill, 2002). They are principles with Applied Management Sciences Institute, a management think tank in Houston, Texas.)