When people say “We can’t do that,” it usually means you’ve run into a barrier of some sort. Your job is to find out what they are trying to protect. 

If they are Connectors, what they may really be saying is, “We’ve tried that before and we didn’t have great results, so why will it work this time?” Or they may be trying to tell you, “I’m not comfortable with change, so show me how this change can be done effectively.” 

If the person is an Analyzer, they may be asking you to give them more facts that support what you are asking them to do. 

In either case, your job is to find the facts and remove the assumed barriers. You can do this by simply asking some open-ended questions: 

“Let’s assume this can be done. What would need to change or happen in order for it to work?” 

“Let’s play Devil’s Advocate. What would you do in order to make it work?” 

“Let’s list the facts that support the statement ‘We can’t do that’.” Once the group has listed those facts, ask, “Let’s look at how we can turn these facts on their head to come up with a great solution.” 

To the person who said “we can’t do that,” say, “It sounds like you’ve pondered this, and if you feel this idea won’t work, tell us why you feel that way?” This will get the person who is a naysayer, or one who never contributes ideas, to be quiet. 

If you want help unpacking your limiting beliefs, use this link to set up a free exploratory call.