A briefing for leaders : communication as the ultimate exercise of power /

Cascading from business shelves are tomes upon tomes on the art of leadership, popular because the 1990s have eradicated all previous guidelines, prompting CEOs, presidents, and also corporate employees to ask, "What makes a leader?" Dilenschneider tackles the subject with conviction, from a communications viewpoint. He claims to provide in words the same sort of "presidential briefing" his public relations firm uses for clients; sections cover leadership's raw materials (vision, values, objectivity, and so on), communications' environment (diverse audi~ences, transnationalism, etc.), tools, and goals. "Thinkpoints," or chapter summaries, are positioned throughout as reminders. An already well-written and well-researched text is enlivened by personal stories of Ross Perot, Sam Walton, Jack Welch, and other American business legends. Easy to read, occasionally controversial (as was his first book, Power and Influence), Dilenschneider's briefing lacks only one item: leadership from the heart. A possibly fatal detraction? ~--Barbara Jacobs

In this helpful version of a briefing designed for senior executives, public relations specialist Dilenschneider ( Power and Influence ) suggests that leaders must concentrate more on the big picture (spotting trends and managing agendas) than on ``media relations or crisis checklists.'' Proposing that leadership has supplanted mere management and administration, he first discusses the ``raw materials'' of leadership (e.g., vision and values). He then addresses the communications landscape (e.g., the increased speed of events), the communications ``template'' (how to use research and staff) and the goals of leadership (how to reach other opinion leaders and maintain goodwill). He writes efficiently, augmenting his short chapters with lists and section summaries. While he covers important ground, his anecdotes are more valuable than his aphorisms, few of which are wholly original. $40,000 ad/promo; author tour. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In the wake of accepting N.Y.C.'s Catholic Archdiocese as a PR client of Hill & Knowlton Inc. last year, Dilenschneider was obliged to step down as the firm's CEO. The author's loss of a lucrative job is noteworthy because his decision to take on a pro- life account (apparently without consulting associates), subsequent stonewalling of critics, and collateral actions ran counter to the principal advisories offered in his own Power and Influence (1990). Moreover, in the imperious, inch-deep work at hand, there's not a word said about lessons learned as a high-profile party to the abortion debate. Which is not to say that any number of allusions to the year- old flap could have measurably improved a decidedly dispensable management guide more notable for pompous by-the-numbers pronouncements than substantive counsel. Drawing upon an edited version of his own career for anecdotal support, Dilenschneider (who's now in business for himself) offers a wealth of solemn assertions--e.g., ``Leadership is founded on the skilled use of five raw materials: vision, values, time, empowerment/motivation, and objectivity.'' In like vein, he opines: ``Leaders have four primary means [focused research, management of issues, etc.] to achieve their agendas and realize the visions of their organizations.'' Also covered in less than fascinating detail are the exigencies of communicating with various constituencies whose residents, while tuned in, are turned off. A surfeit of reinvented wheels and overbearing, jargon-marred preaching.