Human Resources 101

How to Win Friends and Influence People is the grand-daddy of all people-skills books. First published in 1937, it was an overnight hit, eventually selling 15 million copies. The book still carries a lot of weight. BNET includes on its list of 10 Underrated Business Books and it is one of the books on The Personal MBA Recommended Reading List.

This is from Dale Carnegie’s personal summary of his book, How to Win Friends and influence people.

Be a Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment

A leader’s job often includes changing your people’s attitudes and behaviour. Some suggestions to accomplish this:

1. Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
2. Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly.
3. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
4. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
5. Let the other person save face.
6. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be “hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.”
7. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
8. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
9. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.