// Book comparison
How to Win Friends and Influence People vs The Intelligent Investor
Which should you read? A side-by-side comparison of How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie and The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham.
How to Win Friends and Influence People
by Dale Carnegie
★ 4.9/5
The Intelligent Investor
by Benjamin Graham
★ 4.9/5
At a glance
| How to Win Friends and Influence People | The Intelligent Investor | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | ★ 4.9/5 | ★ 4.9/5 |
| Pages | 288 | 640 |
| Reading time | ~7.2 h | ~16.0 h |
| Published | 1936 | 1949 |
| Author | Dale Carnegie | Benjamin Graham |
| Category | Leadership | Finance & Investment |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster | Harper Business |
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 Intelligent Investor if…
- → You're interested in finance & investment.
- → You want the more recent perspective (1949).
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 Intelligent Investor
- ✓ Apply the Margin of Safety principle to every investment, ensuring you buy assets at a significant discount to their intrinsic value to protect against downside risk.
- ✓ Utilize Mr. Market to your advantage by buying when he is irrationally pessimistic and selling when he is overly optimistic, rather than following his emotional lead.
- ✓ Adopt the mindset of a Defensive Investor, focusing on the systematic selection of high-quality, undervalued businesses and maintaining a balanced, diversified portfolio.
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 Intelligent Investor is the better fit. Both summaries are free — no signup required.
❓ FAQ
Is How to Win Friends and Influence People or The Intelligent Investor 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 Intelligent Investor focuses on finance & investment. See the verdict below.
Which is shorter, How to Win Friends and Influence People or The Intelligent Investor? +
How to Win Friends and Influence People is shorter (288 pages, ~7.2 hours) compared to The Intelligent Investor (640 pages, ~16.0 hours).
Should I read How to Win Friends and Influence People or The Intelligent Investor 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.