Page 174 - The Power to Change Anything

Harness Peer Pressure 163

people out, not in. But a strange, new, and powerfully magnetic
pull draws residents into their new social network. For the first
time in their lives these former drug dealers, hookers, and
thieves belong to a group of people who care about their long-
term well being. Sure residents receive more direction than
they’re used to, and it’s often served up with the bark on, but
it always comes with their best interest in mind. And when res-
idents hit their daily and weekly goals, they’re embraced and
praised.
Best of all, for the first time in their lives Delancey residents
belong to a social unit that promotes pro-social behavior.
Previous colleagues (usually gang members) wanted something
from them, not for them, and they continually propelled them
away from everyday society and into the hostile confines of
state and federal prisons. Their new friends are real friends,
rather than accomplices. They’re hell-bent on shaping their
coresidents into healthy people who can make it on the out-
side.
So here’s the key to still another source of social
influence—one that works for Delancey. Create an environ-
ment where formal and informal leaders relentlessly encour-
age vital behaviors and skillfully confront negative behaviors.
When this happens, people make personal transformations that
are hard to believe.
Of course, not everyone is about the business of creating
an entire new social network, but there are social elements from
Silbert’s work that apply to any influence effort. Reformed crim-
inals aren’t the only ones who respond to praise. The need to
belong—to be accepted and admired—is deeply human and
affects everyone from riveters to royalty.
For example, Dr. Don Berwick and his team routinely
influence one of the most sophisticated populations imagina-
ble—doctors and health-care executives. Yet despite their
sophistication, he generously offers praise. He constantly talks
up what’s working. For instance, when he appears on Dateline,