How to Win Friends and Influence People
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie is a classic. That is all there needs to be said. It is a book that you can read, make notes in, and pick up every year. It has had a powerful influence on the way we think about other people, and ourselves. It was way ahead of its time in 1953 and is still topical more than a half-century later. A must-read for anyone interested in making new friends, acquiring new clients and customers, improve your conversation skills, and to win people over to your way of thinking. Brilliant in simplicity, it is the groundwork for self-improvement.
The book begins like no other. Carnegie encourages readers to make notes, to jot down in the book and read every chapter at least twice. By actively engaging in a book, you will be most involved and will remember more. Even before the book engages you to think about personal interactions, you have learned a valuable lesson applicable in all your further reads. The learning continues with chapters on topics like 1) How to interest people, 2) How to get cooperation, and 3) No one likes to take orders. One of the basic techniques featured in the book is to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. This is in total alignment with the fifth principle of leadership by Stephen R. Covey: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood.
‘You can’t win an argument’ is the clever title of the first chapter in the section about getting people to your way of thinking. After giving a lively example, Carnegie explains what is wrong with arguments. He states that nine out of ten times people will be more opposite towards each other than before the argument commenced. Even when you win, it will be an empty victory, because you will not get the goodwill. The chapter concludes with nine tips on how to prevent a disagreement from becoming an argument. In less than ten pages, a very important aspect of daily interaction has been explained, without jargon or unmanageable ways, but with simple language and clear examples and tips.
Dale Carnegie grew up as a poor boy without any special skills. He learned all the skills written in the book along the way of life. He shows that you can change yourself over the years. He was a firm believer that only 15% of your (financial) success depends on your professional skills, and that 85% is based on interpersonal skills, described as: the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people. To date, 16 million people have been influenced by the book. Among them is Warren Buffet, he followed the course related to the book, by Dale Carnegie himself, and to this day has the diploma in his office.
How to Win Friends and Influence People is a straightforward, no-nonsense, go-and-do-it book. It has been a life changer for many people, including the author of this review. Although it does not give much advice about how to implement the techniques, not much is actually needed.
The Book:
More on How to Win Friends and Influence People:
http://erudition.mohit.tripod.com/_Influence_People.pdf – How to Win Friends and Influence People .pdf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TU1P2_I0iE – How to Win Friends and Influence People .wmv
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Win_Friends_and_Influence_People – Wikipedia with chapter overview
http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/friends.html – Principles and Examples from the book