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Dale Carnegie

Dale Carnegie (November 24 1888 - November 1 1955)
was a pioneer in Self-help|self-improvement,
sales|salesmanship, and Training and
development|corporate training programs, and
became famous for courses he developed that
emphasized public speaking and interpersonal
skills.  Born in poverty on a farm in Maryville,
Missouri, he was the author of How to Win Friends
and Influence People, first published in 1936,
which has sold over 15 million copies through many
editions and remains popular today.  He also wrote
a biography of Abraham Lincoln titled Lincoln the
Unknown and several other books. 

Carnegie was an early proponent of what is now
called responsibility assumption.  One of the core
ideas in his books is that it is possible to
change other people's behavior by changing one's
reaction to them.

== Biography ==

Born in 1888 in Maryville, Missouri, Carnegie was
a poor farmer's boy, apparently not seeing a train
until he was twelve years old. In his teens,
though still having to get up at 3 a.m. every day
to milk his parents' cows, he managed to get
educated at the State Teacher's College in
Warrensburg. His first job after college was
selling correspondence courses to ranchers, then
he moved on to selling bacon, soap, and lard for
Armour & Company. He was successful to the point
of making his sales territory, southern Omaha, the
national leader for the firm.

==The Dale Carnegie Course==

The Dale Carnegie Course is a self-improvement
program conducted using a standardized curriculum
by franchised trainers throughout the world. 
Several variations on the course exist, including
a sales course and a course intended for people
about to become managers for the first time.

The basic course consists of twelve evening
sessions lasting three hours each.  Courses are
scheduled in the evening, one night per week. 
Typically there are 10-30 attendees in a course. 
Unpaid assistants, who are "graduates" of the
course seeking to meet the experience requirement
for becoming an instructor, are on hand to assist
with logistics and work with small groups.

Instructors are college graduates who have
experience working as managers in a business
setting.

A good deal of the time each evening is spent in
short presentations given by each of the
participants to the rest of the attendees.  Though
the format varies slightly from week to week,
usually about half of the available time is spent
on presentations.  Presentations are always based
on personal experience rather than a topic that
has been researched.  This is a unique aspect of
the Dale Carnegie Course that sets it apart from
otherwise similar programs, and it is a core
belief of the program that ease and experience
with public speaking produces a wide range of
secondary benefits.

The remainder of each session is spent in lecture
and small group exercises.  Lecture topics cover
memory techniques, the importance of learning
names, conversational techniques, and problem
resolution and small group skills.

The Dale Carnegie Course enjoys a positive
reputation among many business people and,
particularly, is seen as a powerful transitional
tool for shy people unaccustomed to working with
others.  Many employers pay for their employees to
take the course.

== Criticisms of the Course ==

Most people who take the course have good things
to say about it.

Common criticisms are in three major areas. 
First, a great deal of time is spent listening to
speeches given by other participants, particularly
in classes with larger numbers of participants. 
Some critics state that this time is not well
spent.

Second, there is criticism that some techniques
taught are manipulative.  In The Fountainhead, Ayn
Rand included a lengthy subplot where one
character feigns an interest in the hobby of
another in an effort to become a partner in an
architectural firm.  This is a direct attack on
Carnegie's techniques.  The course teaches that
students should "take a genuine interest in other
people" (emphasis added), though some present-day
critics consider this a band-aid for a
fundamentally manipulative activity.

Finally, critics of responsibility assumption
attack that aspect of the program.

== External Links ==

* http://www.dalecarnegie.com
http://www.dalecarnegie.com Homepage of Dale
Carnegie Training.
*
http://www.aetv.com/class/admin/study_guide/archiv
es/aetv_guide.0035.html A&E Biography classroom
study guide for "Dale Carnegie: Man of Influence"