Page 24 - The Power to Change Anything

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You’re an Influencer

I wanted the influence. In the end I wasn’t very good
at being a [university] president. I looked out of the window
and thought that the man cutting the lawn actually
seemed to have more control over what he was doing.

—Warren Bennis

o get a glimpse of what it takes to exert profound influ-
ence, to literally change anything, we first travel to San
T Francisco and look in on influence master Dr. Mimi
Silbert. Consider what Silbert has been able to do by applying
the best of today’s influence strategies to one of today’s most
noxious problems. She is the founder of the Delancey Street
Foundation, a one-of-a-kind organization with headquarters at
an upscale address on San Francisco’s Embarcadero. Silbert’s
company is part corporate conglomerate and part residential
therapy. It consists of several dozen businesses, all headed by
Silbert.
What’s unique about the institution is the employee pop-
ulation. In Silbert’s words, “They’re nasty, racist, violent, and
greedy. They’re thieves, prostitutes, robbers, and murderers.”
Then she adds: “When we started 30 years ago, most were gang
members. Today many are third-generation gang members.”
According to Silbert, “These guys get letters from Grandma say-
ing, ‘Get back here—the gang needs you!’ ”

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