Page 169 - The Power to Change Anything

158 INFLUENCER

verbal persuasion typically leads to resistance. But the practi-
tioners didn’t back away either. Instead, they created a serial
drama containing likable characters who talked about the
social problem in the privacy of their home—while thousands
listened in. The beloved family discussed the pros and cons of
the tradition, and each show ended with the words of a re-
spected narrator who merely asked questions.
As the radio family experienced its tragedy, family members
modeled healthy dialogue. They helped others first think about
the issues and then talk about them with their friends, cowork-
ers, neighbors, and family. As a result, the topic moved from
the dark into the light. An undiscussable became a discussable,
and what had remained underground for centuries wilted in
the light of public discourse.
This particular example may sound a bit far removed from
the world you experience, so let’s bring it a little closer to home.
Obviously the tongue-tied manufacturing leaders who weren’t
allowed to discuss productivity fell victim to this same code of
silence. We also found the same norm of silence in a year-long
study of health care where we were trying to discover why many
hospital patients contract unnecessary infections.*
When we asked neonatology nurses and doctors how infec-
tions find their way into the pristine environment of a neonatal
unit, people would lower their voices, look both ways, and then
relate very similar stories. First was the story of the physician who
would periodically fail to gown up, glove up, or wash up as he
or she should. The second story was of a nurse who, when start-
ing an IV on a very tiny baby, would clip a finger out of his or
her sterile glove to expose his or her finger tip. The nurse had a
good reason for doing this; it’s extremely hard to find a vein on
a baby who can fit in the palm of your hand. Nevertheless, expos-
ing the finger was an egregious violation of safety practices—a
violation that helped spread infections to babies.

*For a full report of the health-care study, visit www.silencekills.com.