Winning with People: Discover the People Principles that Work for You Every Time

by John C. Maxwell

Overview

The most important characteristic that is needed to be successful in any leadership position – whether it’s in business, church, or your community - is the ability to work with people.

Relationships are at the heart of every positive human experience. John C.Maxwell, a master communicator and relational expert, makes learning about relationships accessible to everyone in Winning With People. Within this book, Maxwell has translated decades of experience into 25 People Principles that anyone can learn.

In Winning With People, Maxwell divides these principles into sections based off different questions we must ask ourselves such as:

• Readiness: Are we prepared for relationships?
• Connection: Are we willing to focus on others?
• Trust: Can we build mutual trust?
• Investment: Are we willing to invest in others?
• Synergy: Can we create a win-win relationship?

Each section contains guiding People Principles. Some are intuitive, such as The Lens Principle: Who We Are Determines How We See Others. Others may go against your instincts, such as The Confrontation Principle: Caring for People Should Precede Confronting People.

The most sophisticated leaders and salespeople will pick up on skills that will make them even better, and relational novices will learn skills that can transform them into relational dynamos.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780785288749
Publisher:	HarperCollins Leadership
Publication date:	04/01/2007
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	265,875
Product dimensions:	5.19(w) x 8.05(h) x 0.51(d)

About the Author

John C. Maxwell is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, coach, and speaker who has sold more than 33 million books in fifty languages. He has been identified as the #1 leader in business and the most influential leadership expert in the world. His organizations - the John Maxwell Company, The John Maxwell Team, EQUIP, and the John Maxwell Leadership Foundation - have translated his teachings into seventy languages and used them to train millions of leaders from every country of the world. A recipient of the Horatio Alger Award, as well as the Mother Teresa Prize for Global Peace and Leadership from the Luminary Leadership Network, Dr. Maxwell influences Fortune 500 CEOs, the presidents of nations, and entrepreneurs worldwide. For more information about him visit JohnMaxwell.com.

Editorial Reviews

With more than seven million copies of 30-odd titles in print, preacher turned leadership guru Maxwell is a one-man publishing empire. His latest follows the proven format-a series of short, friendly sermons filled with plainspoken common sense. This time, Maxwell takes on interpersonal skills, saying, "All of life's successes come from initiating relationships with the right people and then strengthening those relationships by using good people skills." The book offers 25 chapter-based "People Principles" that explore how to prepare oneself for relationships, focus on others, build trust, invest in others and create win-win relationships. The quality of the content varies. Some chapters, like "The Confrontation Principle" with its six-step "road map for healthy confrontation," are concise, thoughtful and original. Others (particularly in the later sections, where the book starts to run out of steam), such as "The Partnership Principle," are more like motivational talks and offer few practical takeaways. Each principle is introduced with two to three pages featuring a familiar figure-Abraham Lincoln, Barbara Walters, Ben Franklin, Angelina Jolie, etc.-or a personal story from the author's life. Maxwell concludes each principle with a page of discussion questions, which should prove useful since the book doesn't lend itself to a cover-to-cover read and is probably best swallowed one principle at a time, with some reflection in between. Agent, Yates and Yates. (Jan. 14) Forecast: With a $1-million marketing budget, a 10-city tour and a contest to win a one-day "leadership makeover" from Maxwell and friends, Nelson is clearly preparing to win. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

What does it take to win with people? Good relationships are the foundation for achievement. Relationships are more than just the icing on the cake in life: They are the cake - the very substance we need to live successful and fulfilling lives.
Many people fall into the trap of taking relationships for granted. That's not good because our ability to build and maintain healthy relationships is the single most important factor in how we get along in every area of life. Our people skills determine our potential success.

In this summary, renowned leadership expert and author John C. Maxwell describes how anyone can improve his or her relationship skills. With 25 "People Principles" that anyone can learn and use anywhere he or she might be, Maxwell shows how relationships can be created and strengthened for success in work and life.

Fortunately, Maxwell explains, anyone can learn to become a people person and succeed in the things that matter the most. Winning with People provides the tools needed to immediately improve existing relationships as well as cultivate strong, exciting and new ones. The skills used plus the relationships chosen equal success.

The Readiness Question: Are We Prepared for Relationships?
Not everyone has the skills to initiate, build and sustain good, healthy relationships. Many people grow up in dysfunctional households and never have positive relationships modeled for them. Some people are so focused on themselves and their needs that others might as well not even exist. Still others have been hurt so badly in the past that they see the whole world through the filter of their pain. Because of huge relational blind spots, they don't know themselves or how to relate to people in a healthy way. It takes relationally healthy people to build great relationships.

The Connection Question: Are We Willing to Focus on Others?
All human beings possess a desire to connect with other people. The need for connection is sometimes motivated by the desire for love, but it can just as easily be prompted by feelings of loneliness, the need for acceptance, the quest for fulfillment or the desire to achieve in business.

To fulfill our desire for relationships, we must stop thinking about ourselves and begin focusing on the people with whom we desire to build relationships. When you stop worrying so much about yourself and start looking at others and what they desire, you build a bridge to other people and you become the kind of person others want to be around.

The Trust Question: Can We Build Mutual Trust?
Philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship."

Why do many personal and business relationships fall apart? The reasons for such breakdowns are many, but the cause that outweighs all others is broken trust.

The Investment Question: Are We Willing to Invest in Others?
You may build a beautiful house, but eventually it will crumble. You may develop a fine career, but one day it will be over. You may save a great sum of money, but you can't take it with you. You may be in superb health today, but in time it will decline. You may take pride in your accomplishments, but someone will surpass you.

Relationships are like anything else. The return you get depends on what you invest.

The Synergy Question: Can We Create a Win-Win Relationship?
Some relationships add value to both parties, and that is rewarding. When both parties enter into a relationship with an investment mind-set - after having connected and built trust with each other - a win-win relationship can result.

The wonderful thing about win-win relationships is that they can be forged in every area of life and in all kinds of relationships: between husbands and wives, parents and children, friends and neighbors, and bosses and employees. If both parties sustain a giving attitude and both are having their needs met, then the relationship can become something truly special. Copyright © 2005 Soundview Executive Book Summaries
—Soundview Reviews

Soundview Executive Book Summaries