How to Win Friends and Influence People

Lincoln was a favorite hero of Carnegie, who published a biography of the president. The author believed Lincoln had great insights into human behavior and set examples for wisdom and kindness that are still studied today. Lincoln appears more than once in How To Win Friends for his thoughtfulness toward others. 

A student of the author’s self-improvement courses, Knaphle is the book’s chief example of someone who won over a reluctant customer by asking him to explain his work and its importance. In the process, Knaphle transformed his own attitude from belligerence to empathy; his angry suspicions evaporated in the warmth of the customer’s enthusiasm for and pride in his own work and career. 

A protégé of Andrew Carnegie, Schwab ran US Steel and, later, Bethlehem Steel, guiding both toward greatness. Schwab was one of the most successful business leaders in the early 20th century. Known as a popular boss, Schwab credits his success largely to his skills in dealing with people, showing them respect and inspiring them to do great things for his companies. He had a knack for being “hearty in his approbation and lavish in his praise” (45). 

Though no relation to author Dale Carnegie, this tycoon of steel based his success on his ability to manage people. At the end of a bruising battle between his company and George Pullman for supremacy in the railroad sleeping-car market, Carnegie proposed a merger, and when Pullman asked what the new company would be named, Carnegie replied, “Why, the Pullman Palace Car Company, of course” (74-75).  

President Roosevelt receives multiple mentions in the book as a politician who understood the value of making others feel important. His enthusiasm for people and their accomplishments added to his impact as one of America’s most influential chief executives. Roosevelt’s ability to pay attention to others, remember their abilities, call them by name, and compliment them are exemplified by the occasion when the president, whose legs were damaged by polio, received a custom car designed to be driven entirely by hand. During the demonstration, Roosevelt repeatedly praised the designer, and he went out of his way to thank the chief mechanic, speaking to him by name.