Winning With People by John C. Maxwell - Book Review

John C. Maxwell has often been called America’s leadership expert. He has spoken to, coached, and trained hundreds of thousands of people, including the top leaders of many Fortune 500 companies.

The principles in Winning With People can help you win in relationships. This could be in business or in your personal life. The principles the Author speaks about in this book will hold true today, even though this book is about 20 years old. When it comes to life, whether it be business or personal, relationships are the key to success.

In this book, the Author breaks down how you can win in your day-to-day relationships by splitting his strategy up in 25 easy-to-implement principles. Here we will take a look at some so you can see how valuable this book is if you would like to read the entire thing.

The Lens Principle: Who YOU are determines a number of things.

1. How you see others
2. How you view life
3. What you do

So, who are YOU? This book explains that the difference between who you are today and who you will be in the next 5 years will be the people you spend time with and the books you read.

The Hammer Principle: Never use a hammer to swat a fly off someone’s head. We have all heard this saying. The Author asks the readers to question themselves. “Would others say I overreact to small things in a relationship?” Some things to think about when in a situation where you are tempted to overreact are 1. Total Picture 2. Timing 3. Tone 4. Temperature

Let’s discuss 4. Temperature. The author explains that as tempers flare, some will drop a bomb when just a slingshot would do. The size of the problem can often change based on the way it is handled. If the reaction is worse than the action, the problem usually increases. On the other hand, the Author explains that if the reaction is less than the action, the problem usually decreases. Read that a couple of times to let it sink in. This is a chapter you will want to visit in full.

The Exchange Principle: Instead of putting others in their place, we must put OURSELVES in OUR place. We have all heard the term, “put yourself in their shoes.” The question you must ask yourself is, do you see things from others point of view?  The Author explains that naturally, we do not see ourselves from others’ points of view. However, realizing that and proactively looking at things from the other person’s perspective can be the difference in success or failure in any relationship.

This book is filled with principles that, if implemented on a consistent basis, can cause your relationships with others to grow. Winning With People By John C. Maxwell will show you how. It can help you to build relationships and keep those relationships by changing the way you think one principle at a time.

To learn more about John C. Maxwell, visit maxwellleadership.com