Bryan Caplan's Blog, page 33

How to Win Friends and Influence People: Supplementary Principles

Here are ten more principles of social success that Id add to Carnegies classic lists.

1. Before you treat another person in a less-than-perfectly-pleasant way, always ask yourself, What am I trying to accomplish?  Youll rarely have a good answer for yourself.

2. Before you speak to another person in a less-than-perfectly-pleasant way, always ask yourself, Is there a more constructive way to say this?  There almost always is.

3. When you witness one person treating another in a...

From Telework to Flexible Wages?

Lately Ive been stunned by reports of nominal wage cuts.  They arent just in the news; several professionals that I personally know have received such cuts.  Employers routinely cut total pay during recessions by slashing bonuses and hours.  Even in good times, many employers cut real wages by freezing pay despite inflation.  Yet outright reductions of nominal base pay hourly wages for hourly workers, base salary for salaried workers have been exceeding rare for as long as weve had data. ...

Ask Me Anything About How to Win Friends and Influence People

To wrap up the Dale Carnegie Book Club, Im going to shoot an Ask Me Anything video next week.

Got questions about Carnegies classic book?

Want advice about sticky social situations?

Want to know why anyone should listen to me about this despite my admitted social shortcomings?

Just ask in the comments!

The post Ask Me Anything About How to Win Friends and Influence People appeared first on Econlib.

How to Win Friends and Influence People: Q&A #4

Responses to the last round of comments:

Elijah:

Jareds comment about winning low-quality friends resonated with me.  At times I find myself in the position where I have been very kind and friendly toward someone that proves to be demanding and toxic in our continued interactions.  This is usually more due to poor mental health or immaturity rather than malice, but it still puts me in a difficult position.  How do you advise distancing from relationships that prove to be harmful to your...

Who’s Still Getting Sick?

After a month of shutdown, I cant help but wonder, Whos still getting sick?  Specifically, what is the breakdown between:

1. People who live with someone who was infected with coronavirus

2. Workers in direct contact with coronavirus patients

3. Other essential workers

4. Careless people

5. Outright scofflaws

6. The unlucky (including, of course, diligent people sickened by the careless and scofflaws)

The post Whos Still Getting Sick? appeared first on Econlib.

How to Win Friends and Influence People Book Club, Part 4

Summary

In this last part, Carnegie teaches leadership.  Attentive readers will notice that some of his principles of leadership are virtually identical to earlier general principles, but so what?  Carnegie casually repeats himself because hes trying to improve his readers, not succinctly relay a body of information.  Heres what Carnegie says leaders ought to do:

Principle 1 Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
Principle 2 Call attention to peoples mistakes indirectly.
Principle 3 ...

How to Win Friends and Influence People: Q&A #3

Here are replies to the latest comments.

Andrew:

Both of these types of comments beg the question that the book is something that can be prescribed and blindly adhered to, and is not user-dependent. My assumption is that the majority of people who seek out this book on their own and follow its advice are conscientious introverts who are relatively open and agreeable they are the people who want to be effective in their personal and professional lives but may lack the intuitive sociability of...

How to Win Friends and Influence People Book Club, Part 3

Summary

In Part Three of his self-help classic, Dale Carnegie offers twelve strategies to win people to your way of thinking.  They are:

Principle 1: The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.

Principle 2: Show respect for the other persons opinions. Never say, Youre wrong.

Principle 3: If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.

Principle 4: Begin in a friendly way.

Principle 5: Get the other person saying yes, yes immediately.

Principle 6: Let the other person do a...

How to Win Friends and Influence People: Q&A #2

Next set of reactions for the Book Club:

Art Carden:

I can practically hear malcontents sneering. On one hand, there are leftists who I suspect would (and likely have) denounced Carnegies whole project as whats wrong with bourgeois, commercial civilization: it encourages us to sacrifice authenticitywhatever that isin the name of persuading (or duping) people into helping us along our soul-deadening acquisitive journeys.

On the other, though, there are people who, I think, read too much into ...

How to Win Friends and Influence People Book Club, Part 2

In Part Two of How To Win Friends and Influence People, Carnegie moves from general principles to specific techniques of making people like you.  As well see, his techniques vary dramatically in their cost.

Summary

Carnegie shares six strategies.

1. Become genuinely interested in other people.  Carnegie urges us to emulate the family dog:

Did you ever stop to think that a dog is the only animal that doesnt have to work for a living? A hen has to lay eggs, a cow has to give
milk, and a canary...