The Hidden Cost of Compliance, Why Saying Yes Is The Biggest Risk of Your Life | Dr. Sunita Sah
The High Performance Life · Scott Danner
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Show Notes
In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Sunita Sah!
Sunita is a Cornell professor, former physician, and one of the world's leading experts on compliance and defiance.
Dr. Sunita Sah is a national bestselling author, award-winning professor at Cornell University, and expert in organizational psychology.
She is a former physician and management consultant whose research focuses on influence, authority, compliance, and defiance.
Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, and Scientific American, among others.
Her book, Defy: The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes, explores how to reclaim agency and speak up when it matters.
The paperback edition, How to Speak Up When It Matters, releases February 24, 2026. Key Takeaways
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Why we've misunderstood the word defy
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The hidden cost of always saying yes
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Compliance vs. true consent
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What "false defiance" looks like
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The five elements of a true yes or no
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How to teach kids (and ourselves) to say no without confrontation