I’m a first-generation entrepreneur who loves to learn, and I’m committed to learning as much as I can about entrepreneurship. The best way I’ve found to do it is to study other entrepreneurs and the frameworks they use. So, every week, I read a book, usually a biography. Then, every Sunday, I post my latest read in my Library on this site.

Several years ago, an entrepreneur friend mentioned Dale Carnegie and told me how useful his book was in helping him improve his interactions with his team. I was intrigued and bought Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends & Influence People, but I never made it a priority to read it . . . for seven years.

In the last six months, I’ve gotten more interested in human psychology and have been reading up on the topic. Several books and people have mentioned Carnegie’s book. I decided to dust off my copy and give it a read. The book was initially published in 1936 but has been updated several times. My paperback copy was published in 1998, but I plan to also read the 2022 edition.

Carnegie’s book focuses on his easy-to-understand framework and breaks it down into four parts:

• Techniques for Interacting with People
• Making People Like You
• How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking
• Leadership: How to Change People without Offending or Angering Them

For each part, he explains several principles that help you improve in that area. What I liked was that he connected each principle to examples that crystallize how it had been applied in real life. He didn’t leave it up to the reader to figure out the application of the principles.

I now understand why so many people like this book and why it’s been a bestseller for decades. It helps anyone easily understand how to improve their interactions and relationships with others. Who doesn’t want that?

An interesting fact is that Warren Buffett took Carnegie’s course on public speaking many years ago. He credits that course with improving his interactions with others and getting him past his fear of public speaking. The principles taught in that course are some of the principles in this book.