// Book comparison
How to Win Friends and Influence People vs The Big Short
Which should you read? A side-by-side comparison of How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie and The Big Short by Michael Lewis.
How to Win Friends and Influence People
by Dale Carnegie
★ 4.9/5
The Big Short
by Michael Lewis
★ 4.9/5
At a glance
| How to Win Friends and Influence People | The Big Short | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | ★ 4.9/5 | ★ 4.9/5 |
| Pages | 288 | 288 |
| Reading time | ~7.2 h | ~7.2 h |
| Published | 1936 | 2010 |
| Author | Dale Carnegie | Michael Lewis |
| Category | Leadership | Finance & Investment |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster | W. W. Norton & Company |
Choose How to Win Friends and Influence People if…
- → You're interested in leadership.
- → You want the higher-rated book (4.9/5).
- → You prefer a shorter read (~7.2 hours).
Choose The Big Short if…
- → You're interested in finance & investment.
- → You want the more recent perspective (2010).
Key takeaways — How to Win Friends and Influence People
- ✓ Practice Radical Appreciation by identifying and acknowledging the sincere strengths of your team members, which is the most effective way to inspire high performance and loyalty.
- ✓ Master Empathetic Perspective-Taking by always seeking to understand the motives and needs of your stakeholders before attempting to persuade them to your strategic viewpoint.
- ✓ Avoid Direct Criticism and instead use indirect methods to point out errors, ensuring that you preserve the other person’s dignity and maintain a collaborative work environment.
Key takeaways — The Big Short
- ✓ Prioritize First-Hand Data Investigation, ensuring your organization’s biggest strategic bets are based on the reality of the 'Underlying Assets' rather than on the opinions of rating agencies or experts.
- ✓ Cultivate Contrarian Bravery, recognizing that the most significant strategic opportunities often require you to stand alone and bet against the 'Collective Blindness' of the market.
- ✓ Understand The Danger of Complexity as Obfuscation, recognizing that when a financial product or business model is too complex to be easily explained, it often hides systemic fragility and loss.
The verdict
If you want the higher-rated, shorter read, start with How to Win Friends and Influence People. If you specifically need finance & investment, The Big Short is the better fit. Both summaries are free — no signup required.
❓ FAQ
Is How to Win Friends and Influence People or The Big Short better? +
How to Win Friends and Influence People has the higher reader rating (4.9/5 vs 4.9/5), but "better" depends on your goal. How to Win Friends and Influence People focuses on leadership, while The Big Short focuses on finance & investment. See the verdict below.
Which is shorter, How to Win Friends and Influence People or The Big Short? +
How to Win Friends and Influence People is shorter (288 pages, ~7.2 hours) compared to The Big Short (288 pages, ~7.2 hours).
Should I read How to Win Friends and Influence People or The Big Short first? +
If you want the quicker, higher-rated read, start with How to Win Friends and Influence People. Otherwise read whichever matches your current goal — both summaries are free on BookHubs.