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GETTING AHEAD
THE ENTREPRENEUR
OBERT Dilenschneider is uniquely placed to speak is that Dilenschneider likes to correspond with people through
R
on the subject of power and influence. The former handwritten notes — 30 to 40 a day, he tells me. Far from being
Hill & Knowlton CEO is today chairman of his own borne out of technophobia — he also employs everything from
company, the Dilenschneider Group, and a ren- blogging to a Blackberry — this is a very conscious relationship
owned communications guru who has advised builder.
some of the world’s top CEOs and decision makers. “How many handwritten letters do you get in the mail?” he
He is also a bestselling and prolific author. Indeed, asks. “People get very few handwritten letters these days. It’s all
the first book he ever wrote, Power and Influence, hit the about email. If you really want to break through, look for a
bestseller list, and now he has revisited the theme with a new clever or contrarian way of doing it. And since nobody gets
book: Power and Influence: The Rules Have Changed. handwritten notes, write them one.”
“Most of the rules of the earlier book are now over, they’re The book itself deals with many of these ideas, but overall it
passé,” he tells me when we meet in his offices in the Met Life is about gaining and wielding power in a “warp-speed world
building in New York. “And the reason they’re passé is technol- that has been transformed by technology”, while also being in a
ogy. There are so many tools out there now in cyberspace; you position to have a positive impact on society.
have to understand and take advantage of them.” Having dealt with some of the world’s most powerful decision
This point forms the basis of the first of the book’s 10 rules, but makers, leaders and corporations, Dilenschneider’s book
he is quick to point out that technology is just the tool. “You can abounds with anecdotes about everyone from Nixon to Ghandi,
have the greatest technology in the world, the greatest mastery of all of which go to illustrate the 10 fundamental rules he has laid
technology, but if you don’t have good content you’re dead. There out for the attainment and exercise of power. We cannot hope
are tens of millions of bloggers and people on Youtube and peo- to summarise the great detail involved, but below we touch on
ple doing podcasts, and none of it gets read or seen or ingested, the 10 rules of power and influence.
and the reason for that is there’s no content.
“Everything begins with content, and that all starts with a good 1. Accept, adapt and accelerate – or atrophy
education in places like UCD. When you have the mastery of content Dilenschneider points to the rapid and massive changes taking
and the mastery of persuasion, you can then use technology to reach place throughout the world, not just as regards technology and
a totally different group of people than you might otherwise have.” the online revolution, but also in terms of demographics and
Dilenschneider believes content is also one of the keys to devel- social class. One example cited is that, today, India’s 400 million-
oping strong networks and relationships. “Everybody has to be strong middle class is greater than the population of the US.
creative. “You have to come up with something on a regular basis Any ambitious professional must inform him or herself as to
and provide it to your network and when your network responds what is happening and changing in the world, through extensive
to you, you respond again. You can develop deep relationships reading and blogs. “Technology must only be an enabler. It’s not
based on content which has substance and which is useful to a substitute for clear thinking,” he writes. “A BlackBerry or Treo
your network.” makes it possible to communicate instantly with someone
He adds that this can be useful tool for young professionals who 10,000 miles away, but your message has to be clear for it to
are still a little shy of getting out there and shaking hands. “There are make sense.”
people who develop their networks without ever meeting anybody. Dilenschneider himself reads 11 newspapers a day and six at
They develop them with content and substance, sending information weekends, while he is also an avid reader of blogs like the
to people which is meaningful. It’s a great way to connect.” Huffington Post. “Why is all this important? It teaches us how to
He has his own singular take on the concept, and on public think, how to organise, how to express an argument and how to
holidays will send messages to contacts that relate to the day in observe the world as it evolves around us.”
question. “So in the US I will talk about the meaning of the
Fourth of July, or of Father’s Day and Mother’s Day. I talk to 2. Be prepared to start over – again and again
them with content and it invariably gets through.” You may be on top now, but power can disappear quickly, says
Another unique practice in today’s world of emails and texts Dilenschneider. “You must be ready to fight again even if you’ve
‘If you really want to break through, look for a clever or contrarian way of
doing it. And since nobody gets handwritten notes, write them one’
UCD BUSINESS CONNECTIONS 33
UCD BUSINESS CONNECTIONS 21
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