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A Review: How to Win Friends and Influence People

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by Dale Carnegie
ISBN-13: 978-0091906818 

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie is an excellent book which, in my opinion, everyone should read at least once. I’ve read it twice and bought it four times. I was halfway through the first time and left it on a plane in 2006. I bought it again and finished it, I don’t know what happened to it after that. I bought another copy a few years ago and my wife lost it and this year I bought it again.

It has helped form a lot of my opinions and practices related to how people should be treated and what I would like my leadership style to be. The book was published in 1953 and is a book of its time, so some of the language could do with updating, which is hard when some of it is in quotes from people.

The book is divided into four sections: Fundamental Techniques in Handling People, Six Ways to Make People Like You, How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking and Be A Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offence or Arousing Resentment. Each section has a number of chapters and each chapter ends with a principal. This makes it really easy to absorb and apply.

The techniques described are not silver bullets, but it is clear that applying them will help people like you, and more importantly not dislike you,  and help you to get more of what you want. As with all books like this, you still have to do the work and make the changes.

It’s working for me.

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