I finally got around to reading this classic, and it did not disappoint. How To Win Friends and Influence People goes well beyond the title, professing the many different ways to behave in order to effectively foster and maintain strong relationships, create opportunities, and lead others. I found the leadership portion of this book especially valuable.

A lot of what Dale preaches around social dynamics sounds like common sense, yet many of us often behave differently in our daily lives. We often get bogged down by our current predicaments and forget to pause, listen to others around us, and act accordingly. This book serves as a great reminder of simply how to be a good person. Dale walks the reader through story after story highlighting the application and effectiveness of his principles, and keeps it simple. What’s also interesting is how some people of great importance and popularity at the time of writing have faded into the background of history. It was interesting to learn about some of these folks in this context.