I used to loath self-help books. I thought they were simple, benign, asinine, not rigorous, and a waste time. I included business books in this category; narrations of common knowledge that for some reason are presented one-thousand different ways.
That was my attitude for a long time; I was a Classical musician and a staunch academic. I thought I was important, cultured, fiercely intelligent, and different from the rest. Then I grew-up. I realized that my perceived self-importance was just that, perceived. I thought I had figured things out when other’s had not; I thought that I was smarter than the rest; I thought I was more talented; I thought I felt more when others did not feel...I thought a lot of things.
After a series of challenges and setbacks that I would call failures, I learned to take things as they presented themselves and to not discount pretty much anything. The dreams of my sixteen year-old self had changed and in many ways, become more realistic and grounded. During my decade of challenges I obtained an MBA from University of Phoenix Online and I started to be open to new ways of thinking that were very different from my previous experiences.
One of those different ways of thinking was the concept of networking and soft skills. As a musician, I assumed my talent would speak for itself and because I was also a ‘nice’ person networking would take care of itself. I was wrong. As I have discovered, networking is one of the most important skills they do not teach you in college. Some people are just good at it, some develop their skills, some learn from their parents, some struggle, and some discount its importance.
I really started thinking about networking and self help business books when a series of colleges around the country considered teaching these books as college courses, usually as humanities credits. At most locations these courses have not been implemented; lack of rigor of the source material, inability to fill a semester of learning with one book, and the lack of solid academic thought in proposing these ideas, but the ideas of teaching college students these ideas are dead-on.
And this brings me to one of my favorite business self-help books, How to Win Friends & Influence People. In my past life I thought this book was a joke without even reading it, but after I did I quickly appreciated it. Like many business books it is a series of concepts/ideas/principles that are supported by stories from the author’s perspective. The book is light, 250 pages in large font and is easy to read with few references or extended citations.
Over the next few articles, I will look at the principles covered in How to Win Friends & Influence People and explain why every person in Higher Education, from tenured professors, to adjuncts, and administrators need to read this book.
As I analyze this book I will post one question: If this book is so simple, why doesn’t everyone follow its principles?
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