Become Genuinely Interested In Other People

One of the Best Business Books I have Read

One of the first books I ever read on business and still to this day one of the best was, "How To Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carneige.  My entrepreneurship teacher in high school made it mandatory for us to read it.  I remember thinking that the author made the book very easy to read and straight forward.  However, only being a junior in high school I did miss out on most of the real world advice and great business ideas Carnegie laid forth.

Become Genuinely Interested In Other People

It is amazing to me how much we all can get caught up in our own agenda and what we can great out of deals that we forget this basic and fundamental principle of business.  When you take your focus off yourself and put it on the other person, doors begin to open and life gets a whole lot easier. 

Ask Lots of Questions

Some of the best advice I have ever had in business was to ask more open ended questions.  To me, this is the very best indicator if you have taken Carnegie's advice to heart about becoming genuinely interested in others.  The more time you spend on listening and asking well thought out questions to others the further the conversation will lead you and the more success you will have. 

Smile

One of the first things Carnegie tells you to do in his book is smile.  Wow, what a simple concept.  If you are looking for bang for your better business buck...look no further.  I recommend trying to smile in every business interaction you have for the next day and see what happens.  Whether you are talking on the phone or across from a plate of food over lunch, by smiling you will portray a more positive energy and create a warm environment others will naturally be attracted too.

Do They Like You, Do They Trust You & Do They Have Faith In Your Ability?

My first job out of college was working with a private portfolio manager as his investment analyst and assistant.  He had this amazing ability with people when he would meet with them to win them over to his way of thinking and by the end of the presentation they always liked him.  So, one day I asked him the secret to his success and he told me it was real easy.  Do they like you, do they trust you and do they have faith in your ability?  Don't you love it when people make things easy?

If I could tell you the single greatest influence anyone has had on my professional life it would have been those three little questions.  I promise if you look back on those deals that fell through the cracks or when things went wrong for you in business, one of these three things were missing.  If you follow Carnegie's advice on becoming genuinely interested in people you will already get two out of three right off the bat.  So, that leaves faith in your ability which can always be improved upon with learning and experience (or by reading my blog of course).