Impacts of Emotional Intelligence in How to Win Friends and Influence People - Book Report/Review Example

How to Win Friends and Influence People First produced and published in 1937, the book of How to Win Friends and influence people just celebrated its seventieth print year, a remarkable achievement of any book. Nowadays, it is perceived as a common knowledge that emotional intelligence has some profound impacts on the success of individuals in line with their personal lives and careers. Based on the above theory, Dale Carnegie, who was already an accomplished public speaker, by the early 1930s, arrived at the conclusion that the American colleges are doing a good work of imparting technical knowledge. However, the colleges are falling short when it comes to the idea of teaching people skills. Carnegie, therefore, commenced offering evening courses to a few groups so as to enhance their communication skills (Carnegie 18). Words of his courses were spreading, and sensing the wide unmet needs, Simon and Shuster publishing company convinced Carnegie to jot some of his ideas on paper. This study, therefore, seeks to analyze some of the ideas echoed by Dale Carnegie in the book on how to win friends and influence people. The title of how to win friends and influence people reeks some elements of insincerity as a number of individuals tend to boast when they win a friend and keep influencing them to their personal gains. For a modern reader, the book recollects a mental trickery of a dog-eat-dog society, the awkward principle product by a depression-era salesman. In view of these sentiments, judging a book by its cover may be a very reasonable thing to undertake. First, there exists a strange inconsistency between the brazenness in the title and much of what is in the book. When carefully read, it is not a manual for manipulation at all. Carnegie originally despised winning of friends for the purpose. The motivation which makes the writings a great read derives from the love of people. Secondly, Carnegie’s writings are based on America of the 1930s. Then, America was still getting itself out of opportunities as well as the great depression, especially for individuals with limited education who were scarce then. Carnegie enhanced a way of moving ahead, taking advantage of that one thing that an individual out rightly owned, which is one’s personality. By modern standards, the assumptions made on how to win friends do not appear too wild since the motivational psychology is currently in place and well established. However, the impact of these writings in 1937, prior to the great post-world war two period prosperity might have been like Gold. The third instance is the purpose for writing a book. Writing of the above book was not with the eye of enhancing bestseller glory, being a text guide to Carnegie’s courses of effective speaking and that of human relations. The ‘how to’ part in the title symbolizes a giveaway as to its origin course. The previous print run was about five thousand copies. Rather than being generated as segments of some profit master plan from individual's baser instinct, the objective was to enhance the messages by Carnegie course to the reading audience (Riggio, Ronald & Joanne 422). The successes of Carnegie’s courses for adults revealed a deep need for education on a soft skill of expressing ideas, leading people, as well as the creation of enthusiasm. That raw intelligence or technical knowledge itself do not give out career success in the modern economy. Furthermore, during Carnegie’s time, the notion of success’ many elements researches had hardly commenced. In visualizing that the skills of individuals was likely to bring a difference, Carnegie effectively familiarized the sentiments of emotional intelligence, years prior to its establishment as a basic notion in the field of academic psychology. In Carnegie’s mind, was a statement by John Rockefeller that the ability of handling people well was more precious than all other variables put together. However, surprisingly, he did not find any book written on the very subject. Carnegie with his researchers hungrily read everything that they would find in line with human relations. Among the articles read includes, but not limited to: court judgments, classical texts, magazine articles, biography of individuals of reputable leadership skills as well as the latest ideas on psychology. He even moved further to interview two most important investors then, Marconi and Edison, as well as some movie stars (Riggio, Ronald & Joanne 425). A set of basic ideas arose from the above researches. Originally, a short lecture was relentlessly tested in the human laboratory in view of his course attendees preceding emerging, fifteen years later, as the principles of how to win friends and influence people. It is however true that the basis of the book was not on a whim. At the start of this book, Carnegie provides the example a person who drove away his three hundred plus employees mercilessly. Apparently, the epitome of a retard boss, incapable of talking issues of substance to his employees is the larger picture. But after internalizing the principles in Carnegie course and applying them, especially that of never condemn, criticize or complain, the person was able to change three hundred and fourteen enemies to friends. Thus inspiring loyalty and enhancing profits. But there exist more, Carnegie documents that his family liked and loved him more, he had lengthy durations for leisure thus finding his outlook on life significantly altered. Stories of the financial effects or beneficial career in view of Carnegie courses never excited him that much. What excited him was the resultant impacts of how they opened up the eyes of various individuals. Thus, reshaping their lives. The concept bright lightened future to individuals came into effect at this duration, with a significant change in the view of life, not as a power game or a struggle (Crosnoe 422). The second chapter of the book gets underway with the quote from an American philosopher John Dewey, that the biggest urge in the nature of humanity is the desire to be important. Freud’s belief in Carnegie notes was that besides sex, the major desire and need was to be great; Lincoln argued that an appreciation should be to the craving. The individual who comprehends the above craving for appreciation according to Carnegie will also understand how to make people happy. The person who integrates the above principles will also comprehend on how to withdraw the best from the other individuals. The general view of Carnegie principles brings the perception of an anti-flattery individual. Flattery simply entails coping the vanities to its receiver. On the other hand, sincere appreciation to someone’s good views is an act of gratitude that requires you actually to see that person, in some instances, for the first time. The effect is that you appear more valuable and useful to them, whereas the expression of value only increases your own. You acquire the priceless pleasure of perceiving a face light up in the workplace thus, ensuring an enhanced cooperation that drives out boredom and mistrust. Carnegie’s principles necessitate sincerer appreciation and honesty that ultimately deals with visualizing the beauty of people (Crosnoe 426). The book, 'how to win friends', in my opinion, is a revolutionary document since it firmly installs into the public mind, the notion that the human relations are more comprehensible than we think. It also documents that the learning skills of effectively influencing an individual can take place in a systematic manner. I addition to the above, Carnegie propose that individuals cannot influence other people until they respect and like them first. Despite the notion that it is easier to parody, the book remains a genuinely rare document in the personal development writing area of specialization. Work Cited Carnegie, Dale. "How to Win Friends & Influence People.” New York: Simon & Shuster. Carnegie How to Win Friends and Influence People (1981). Crosnoe, Robert. "Friendships in childhood and adolescence: The life course and new directions." Social Psychology Quarterly (2000): 377-391. Riggio, Ronald E., and Joanne Lee. "Emotional and interpersonal competencies and leader development." Human Resource Management Review 17.4 (2007): 418-426. Read More