Power and Influence: The Rules Have Changed

by Robert L. Dilenschneider

Book Overview

Dilenschneider works with or is familiar with 80 percent of the Fortune 100 companies and will use his extensive speaking schedule and business network to support this book. Dilenschneider is the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0071489762
• ISBN13: 9780071489768
• Release Date: July 2007
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
• Length: 210 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.9" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Being informed and informative on a critically important reading

An internationally recognized communication authority and leadership counselor, Robert L. Dilenschneider is the founder and CEO of The Dilenschneider Group, and therefor brings a very special expertise to "Power And Influence: The Rules Have Changed". Many of the traditional ways of doing business in a pre-internet world have become obsolete with the coming of globalization and only those businesses that can adapt to these changes will survive and prosper. A master power broker and experienced communications expert, Dilenschneider provides the reader with the intellectual, technical, and ethical tools required to thrive in an increasingly competitive world environment. The advice, insights, instructions, and recommendations comprising "Power And Influence" are distilled into ten universal principles for success in a technology-driven and volatile national and international economies. Of special note are the real-world anecdotes that illustrate how to acquire and amplify power and influence both as an individual and as a corporation. Enhanced with the inclusion of two essays on the 'Power Game' and an appendices, 'The Power Quiz', "Power And Influence" is very strongly recommended as being informed and informative on a critically important reading for anyone engaged in the business community be it local, regional, national, or international in scope.

Power and Influence is Powerful!

One of the best business books of the year! In fact it is something we can all live by in our daily lives. Its lessons are universal. Dilenschneider has a keen eye for the present and the future, but never forgets the lessons of history. Following the rules in this book shows how ordinary people can do extraordinary things. This is a book not just for executives, but guides those with a good moral compass through the pitfalls that lie ahead; allowing everyone the opportunity to become influential! A powerful notion indeed! JRC

Profound Wisdom

If you have ever wished that you could sit down for dinner with a star from the business world and pick their brain, then you will thoroughly enjoy Robert Dilenschneider's latest book. For less money and less time than a dinner in NYC, readers will get the benefit of the accumulated wisdom of someone who has been a very successful businessman and has worked side-by-side with many of the captains of the business world. This is a quick read book due to its length and the conversational tone in which the author converses as if over dinner. Although organized around some key principles, I believe the strength of the book is not some rigorous analytical framework but instead some key points that the author succinctly makes and that are powerful takeaways. Specifically, Dilenschneider's book is a "must read" for anyone finding themselves experiencing a fall from power - an experience the author correctly notes is more likely than ever to happen because of the propensity for rapid turnover of executives. The author experienced such a fall and is rightly proud of the fact that he bounced back (although one senses some still lingering resentment over that episode). The book is also a must read for aging executives who may be "fighting" change, rather than embracing it as Dilenschneider so strongly urges. It should be a must read for the many for whom courtesy, personal respect, and the like have become such an anathema. But, I doubt it will be read by this group for the books message will likely not resonate well with those pursuing a life focused exclusively on instant personal gratification. The greatest value in the book lies in the authors appeal that those with power use it for constructive purposes. Amen! As such, this is a perfect companion book to Robert Green's excellent analysis of the sources of power in his fine book, The 48 Laws of Power. I wish I could be more optimistic that the world Dilenschneider advocates was closer to being at hand. A world where change is embraced but "old fashioned" values continue to be the norm. The author has done his part to appeal for such a world. The challenge is for more of us to do our part.

Power with a purpose

Abraham Lincoln said, "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." Robert L. Dilenschneider is a man of power who also shows true strength of character. In "Power and Influence: The Rules Have Changed," he recounts dealing with his own adversity -- most difficult of which was being forced to leave communications giant Hill & Knowlton, where he had been a top executive who helped the company rise to prominence -- and how he rebounded to start his own company, The Dilenschneider Group, and regained his position as one of the premier power players in his field. But this book isn't so much about Dilenschneider as it is about his eagerness to use power to help others. That is the most important lesson in a book filled with invaluable tips on how to achieve power -- making and maintaining contacts, keeping up with technology and, certainly not least, working hard -- and what to do with that power once you get it. In addition to being an astute businessman, Dilenschneider is a good writer and an excellent storyteller whose best stories are about other power players who helped him and taught him how to help others. Yes, this is a how-to book, but it's also a why-to book: why to do good things with your power. The answer, according to Dilenschneider, is that the biggest problem in the world today is the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots, and those in power have a moral responsibility to help close that gap. The themes of ethics, integrity, generosity, humility, happiness, wisdom, faith and, of course, character loom large in a book that is more than a business tome, written by a man who is more than a power player. Even if, like me, you are not a business person, you will gain a great deal of insight from "Power and Influence: The Rules Have Changed."

A Book to be Read by All

Whether you are in top management or in the rank and file, whether you are just starting in your career or a student, this book is a must read. It deals with all the challenges we face .. email, voice mail, text messaging, internet, blogging, and the like. And Robert Dilenschneider offers advice on how to manage all these forms of communication while advancing yourself in reaching your goals and objectives. This book provides examples of situations we all face, and gives us solutions that will work no matter what the age of the reader. I have read many of Bob Dilenschneider's books, and this could indeed be the best yet.