I should read this one. I almost always disliked the people who cited it as the most important book they ever read - so I can criticize it, but actually know little about it. Just seemed interesting that the people who talked about how wonderfully meaningful it was, also seemed to be selfish and practice constant virtue signaling with no actions to back it up. Is that in the book?
I think this is an interesting one, because I think it’s another somewhat misunderstood book. It shouldn’t be selfishly used, and it shouldn’t be high ethics (pretty simplistic takes).
It’s not supposed to be about manipulation, but actually just doing some basic stuff. Remember people’s names, be interested in other people (not ‘act’ interested, which is how some people misinterpret), etc. People who are like, “Oh, I’m terrible with names,” often are just too self-involved to make the effort.
I feel like this book is helpful for a lot of people who didn’t learn basic social skills for whatever reasons, but is misused by many who think the ‘Influence People’ part is a game (which is understandable from the title).
I kinda miss The Secret era. As annoying as it was, I’ve never encountered a better heuristic for avoiding people, nor one that people seemed more eager to volunteer. At work, on dates - so many people seemed to bring it up.