I recently went one on one with Robert L. Dilenschneider. Robert is the founder of The Dilenschneider Group, the former President and CEO of Hill+Knowlton, and the author of the newly released book Nailing It: How History’s Awesome Twentysomethings Got It Together.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share more of your advice. What have been the best lessons you have learned since the onset of the pandemic? 

Robert: I learned that there is a totally new way of working – remotely for sure, but much is happening in government and other circles that affects business and it is not being attended to. That is one of the reasons we have a 6.2 percent rise in inflation.

Adam: What do you hope readers take away from your new book NAILING IT?

Robert: The idea that at any stage of your life you can start something and make it successful.  And the idea that we should all do whatever we can to help young people.

My hope is that the stories in the book will help every reader realize that there are many paths forward. Some paths are smooth, while others are rocky. Some are routine and quotidian, others are novel. Some seem to go around in circles. Some require daring, bravery, and rebellion. 

Whether you are a young person, or someone who loves a young person and wants to help him or her—or whether you are an “old” person taking stock of things—know that each path is unique, just as each person is unique.

Adam: What are your best tips on how to overcome obstacles and challenging circumstances? 

Robert: In the book, I shared stories of twenty-five men and women who used a variety of strategies to rise out of difficult personal circumstances, overcome great obstacles, defy their critics, and attain success.

In almost every case these men and women took prudent risks, were oblivious to criticism, and exercised a laser-like focus on their objectives. 

Adam: How can anyone attain personal and professional success, regardless of the climate? 

Robert: I believe that everyone can be successful. It just takes determination with your shoulder to the wheel.

The world is full of timid souls and idle dreamers who never really go after what they want. Don’t be one of them. Work to stand out!

Adam: What are some of the most surprising anecdotes you uncovered involving the people you featured in your book? 

Robert: The book is packed with these, from how people started at any early beginning with nothing, to how they achieved all of its success. 

Two of the people in the book resisted the roles that others assigned them: Akio Morita and Rita Levi-Montalcini. 

Morita was expected to take over his family’s centuries-old business, following the example of fifteen generations of his predecessors. 

Levi-Montalcini was supposed to become a traditional wife and mother, not even going to college; certainly not becoming a doctor. 

Carving their own paths, Morita founded Sony and Levi-Montalcini won a Nobel in medicine (and became neither a wife nor a mother). 

Adam: What are your best tips for leaders of how to lead during times of crisis, uncertainty and change? 

Robert: My best advice is to make sure you have a defined position and refer to it over and over again. Do not depart from that position.

For leaders, decision making can be extremely lonely. At the end of the day one person sits in a room, and no matter how much advice he or she has received, they have to make the final decision. Often the decision has tremendous downsides and the person has to be prepared to live with them.

Adam: What is your best advice for Millennials and Gen Zers?

Robert: For most of us at 25 or so, the future is at least unknown, perhaps a bit daunting. It does not have to be this way.

Set your objective and think in specific terms about what it will take to achieve your goals. Then stay on track. Put every distraction and temptation aside no matter how attractive it be at the time.

Anything is possible. Try and keep gauging the environment around you and adapting to it as you progress.


Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.

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