Dale Carnegie – Nathan Magnuson

Caps for Sale (and the Art of Influence)

“How do you get someone to push you?” I was taking a wrestling class as a kid and that was the question the coach posed as he demonstrated a new move. “You push him first. Then he’ll want to push back and you can use his momentum to your advantage.”…

7.5 New Year’s Leadership Resolutions

December 16, 2013 Character decision-making Expectations Influence Inspiration Learning Networking

This year has just about come to a close. The Type As among us are probably wrapping up their goals and planning for the new year (if they aren’t finished already). The rest will catch up. Maybe. I saw a great post from Mark Miller last week on New Year’s…

Dramatize Your Ideas!

September 23, 2013 Communication Engagement Influence Personal Effectiveness

I don’t think I’ll ever forget one particular college history class. As a business major, I wasn’t extremely invested and the class took place right after lunch. I remember one student team was scheduled to give a presentation on Ancient Roman civilization. Just as I was about to zone out, the…

Capture Any Audience Using the “Magic Formula”

August 19, 2013 Communication Influence Leadership Personal Effectiveness Public Speaking

I was standing in front of a roomful of corporate employees about to launch into my training session. I knew the course content had the potential to make a strong impact in their communication and relationships and I had some specific learning goals for the group. But I resisted the…

Your Organization Absolutely Needs Name Tags

July 15, 2013 Communication Organizational Effectiveness

You walk down the hallway at work and just as you are about to greet a co-worker, he instead stares at the floor as he passes by. Later on, you realize in a meeting that a “random” co-worker you smile at each day actually provides your most important reports. So…

Powerful Question #7

July 3, 2013 Powerful Questions Uncategorized

Dale Carnegie‘s 4th principle for becoming a friendlier person is, “become genuinely interested in other people.” Carnegie explained it like this: “I am very fond of strawberries and cream, but I have found that for some strange reason, fish prefer worms. So when I went fishing, I didn’t think about what…

5 Leadership Book Recommendations for the Summer

May 27, 2013 Leadership Personal Effectiveness Reading

It’s May. Graduation season is upon us. The kids are close to getting out of school for the summer. Maybe you have your vacation all planned out. Regardless, nearly everyone has some collection of summer activities in mind. I’ve posted about reading before. I’ve shared reading strategies, a comprehensive list…

Leading Others the Dale Carnegie Way

March 18, 2013 Communication Guest Post Leadership Personal Effectiveness

There are two times most people start thinking about leadership. The first is when they experience poor leadership for the first time. Usually one of their first bosses rubs them the wrong way or they have a poor customer experience from a trusted organization. The second time is when they…

Leadership Profile: Dale Carnegie

February 4, 2013 Influence Inspiration Leadership Leadership Profiles Personal Effectiveness

I don’t have too many claims to fame, but occasionally I like to tell people that I grew up in the same town as Dale Carnegie: Belton, MO. Ironically, I had to travel to the opposite side of the globe before I invested the time to read what I have since considered…

Six Reasons You Should Give Public Speeches

November 12, 2012 Communication Influence Leadership Personal Effectiveness Public Speaking

One of the ideas I really latched on to when I started taking leadership courses in graduate school was John Maxwell’s quote, “everything rises and falls on leadership.” But I was also challenged by a response my leadership friends came up with, that leadership rises and falls on communication. If…

Favorite Books on Leadership

August 27, 2012 Leadership Reading

It’s pretty common that my friends or folks in my network will ask me what book they should read. I love the question, but it always puzzles me just a bit. Without any context, it feels kind of like they are asking me what outfit they should wear that day! …