Prejudice and bias exist in the business world. There are some deep seated prejudice and bias that cannot be explained with rational argument, thought or action.

I call this the Yoko Ono factor.

The Beatles came to America when I was 4 years old and were the musical soundtrack to my childhood. All of my friends were caught up in Beatlemania at its worst. The Beatles were my life.

When I turn 10, they were gone. I blamed this on Yoko.

People who study the history of the Beatles note that a lot of factors played into their breakup. There were creative differences, jealousies and the fact that George Harrison had developed as a songwriter along with Lennon and McCartney.

None of this mattered to me. I dumped all of the blame on Yoko.

Admittedly Yoko was a good target. She was strange, even for the 1960’s counter culture era. John helped her launch her singing career, which sounds like the noise a cat would make if its tail were caught in a lawnmower.

John and her did things like stay in bed for a week with the idea that this would bring world peace. Although I see internet offers these days for people doing a lot of things in bed, none, not even Paris Hilton, attach any goal of widespread social change to their actions.

Yoko did and it made me hate her even more.

I spent most of my teenage years hoping that John would see the light, dump Yoko and the Beatles would go right back to dominating the music scene. That did not happen and on December 10, 1980, Mark David Chapman took that chance away forever when he murdered John Lennon.

Lennon’s death hit me like the death of a loved one. My friends and I sat and played Imagine over and over again for days. Although I was grieving, I could not extend sympathy to Yoko, John’s true love. The prejudice had gone that far.

It has been 23 years since John was taken from us. George has died too and Ringo and Paul aren’t putting out many hits anymore. There is no way the Beatles could get back together and I still can’t warm up to Yoko. I suspect I never will. Short of Yoko coming to my house and hanging out under an expressed promise not to break into her singing voice, there is not a scenario where I can find Yoko endearing. It is just too hard.

I’ve spent all of my life fighting against discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, size and appearance (I’m fat and don’t like for other fat people to be discriminated against) and yet I understand how bigotry develops because of my issues with Yoko Ono. I see how it can take generations for change to happen and logic and rational thought to win out.

In the business world, the Yoko Ono factor has significant consequences when people cannot make smart choices because of irrational factors. I was watching a biography of Colonel Sanders and found that since he did not believe owning stock, his secretary, who did believe in it, made more money on Kentucky Fried Chicken than he did. People in business see it every day. People who don’t believe in stock or real estate even when those have been proven to be great long term investments. People who “don’t like insurance companies” even when insurance would provide needed protection and annuities have shown to be great investments with tax advantages.

There are Yoko Ono factors that pop up in everyone’s life in every circumstances. My dad refused to play cards with anyone who smoked a pipe. He could not explain why.

I guess knowing why is the key. If you understand why you have a bias and where it comes from, it is easier to get rid of your personal Yoko Ono factor in your life.

If I got to know Yoko, I suspect I would probably like her. She was a part of one of the greatest music story of the 20th century and is a close link to an important part of musical history and history in general. The Beatles had a dramatic impact on popular culture and Yoko was there for all of it. We would probably wind up being friends.

As long as she promised never to sing.

Don McNay is the President of McNay Settlement Group in Richmond, Kentucky where Yoko Ono has never been a client or customer.