Dale Carnegie HTWFAIP

Posted Mon Feb 8, 2010 in

I recently finished Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. The book was written nearly a century ago and went through any number of editions. It is an excellent book and one I wish I read many years ago. What can I say besides I’m a late-bloomer.

The book is a combination of many stories (anecdotes) that illustrate Carnegie’s theses. He did an excellent job of enumerating those principles and then providing a heuristic argument for how they work when dealing with people.

My expectation is that they will not work all the time. But, I think what they will do is set up the situation to be cordial and professional and provide the framework for reaching a conclusion where every participate takes away something they want or need. The side benefit is that they will all leave as pleased with the outcome as they can be.

I prepared a summary of the 31 principles. I printed a couple of copies and posted one in the back of my reporter’s notepad (Moleskine squared small size) and another on the back inside cover of my journal (Moleskine plain regular size). A copy of the PDF is posted (carnegie-win-friends.pdf) on my website for download. Use the summary if it helps you.

But, you will need the book to understand how the principles work. Get yourself a copy and read it. It’s good.

Maybe I’ll make an image of the back of my reporter’s notebook and post it for this entry before the entry posts.

  1. I have not read the book. Mostly it was due to my aversion to “self-help” material of any form. But I think I need to grow up some time, so perhaps I will try it.

    — Ajay    12 February 2010, 18:00    #

  2. Everyone who works with people should read this book. It’s not about being solicitous; it’s about understanding how people think and feel and relating to that. It’s about creating win-win situations where everyone gets what they want/need. It’s also a great way to get along with other folks, especially those we work with and those we care about.

    The book is worth at least two reads.

    — ruminator    12 February 2010, 18:36    #