Randy Polito has walked into rooms where the problem was obvious and the solution was clear. He's proposed it. And he's heard the same response more times than he can count.
"We don't do that."
Not "that won't work." Not "we don't have the resources." Not "that's illegal." Not "we don't understand."
We. Don't. Do. That.
It sounds like an answer. It's a defense.
Here's what "we don't do that" actually means: This is how we've always done it, and I'm not willing to question whether there's a better way. This is who we are, and changing would mean admitting I was wrong. This is comfortable, and your idea is threatening.
"We don't do that" ends conversations that should be beginnings.
Randy Polito worked with an organization that wasn't getting results. They kept doing the same thing, expecting different output. It's basic math—if your input isn't giving you the desired output, you change the numbers you're plugging in. You can't double down on a failing approach and wonder why the results don't improve.
Randy Polito said: "We need to go directly to the end audience and find out why they're not adopting the product."
Response: "We don't do that."
But here's the thing—Coke doesn't call the store and say "go find more people to drink our product." Coke goes directly to the masses. Coke creates demand. Then people walk into stores asking for it.
This organization was blaming the distributor. The distributor was blaming the product. Nobody was talking to the actual customer.
When you shut down a question with "we don't do that," you're not protecting the organization. You're protecting your ego.
Because the real question underneath is terrifying: "Why don't we do that?" And the honest answer might be: We never thought about it. We don't know how. We're afraid to try. We'd rather be right than get it right.
Randy Polito has watched this play out a hundred times. An employee sees the real problem. Management hears it as a threat. Instead of engaging with the facts, they defend the system. Instead of asking "why not," they shut it down with "we don't."
And the problem persists. The product fails. The customer doesn't adopt. The middle man gets blamed. And nothing changes.
Here's what Randy Polito believes: "We don't do that" is a leadership failure masquerading as an answer.
Good leadership looks different. A good leader hears a new idea and asks questions. Not to shoot it down—to understand it. "Why do you think that would work? What are the constraints we'd hit? How would we try it safely? What would we learn?"
A good leader accepts that not every idea is good. And also accepts that the best ideas sometimes come from people lower in the hierarchy who can see things leadership can't.
A good leader understands that failure is data, not defeat. It's a pivot point, not an end point.
But most importantly, a good leader doesn't get mad at the people bringing the message. Doesn't blame the distributor. Doesn't shoot the messenger.
Instead, a good leader changes the message so that it lands better.
— Randy Polito