After reading A Year of Reading Dangerously I made a list of books I feel are classic, essential works that I have not read, but probably should.  Some of them may even be things that people assume I have read.  One of those books was How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

I have friends who have taken his course and referenced the material from time to time.  I haven’t heard about many people reading this work recently, but once I picked it up and started reading, I realized immediately why it is such a classic.  It is written in a combination of styles that are incredibly appealing.  It is a list.  It is also full of stories.  The format presents the listed suggestion, a brief explanation and then story after story illustrating the point.  It is easy to read and even easier to relate to.

It is a quintessential read for leaders because it provides insight into human nature.   Many of the suggestions are counter to our natural inclinations, yet effective.  Somehow they even seem on trend with much of the rhetoric being taught in leadership circles today.  A culture of encouragement and praise as a motivator as opposed to a culture of criticism, correction and the negativity.

Servant leadership seems like a much more recent buzzword but is really described here in this book written in 1936.  If you are like me and somehow never read this classic work, I highly recommend it.