People Tools: 54 Strategies for Building Relationships, Creating Joy, and Embracing Prosperity

This is a compendium of bits of wisdom the author has gained over his lifetime. They are common-sense tools, told in an easy, conversational style with fun and amusing anecdotes that illustrate them well. Some of my favorites are The Belt Buckle (actions speak louder than words); The Eighty Percent Solution (people, experiences, interactions are good when they meet at least eighty percent of the ideal); Sunk Cost (don’t make decisions based on time/effort/money already expended; work from where you are right now); Snip (cut out things in your life that aren’t bringing you happiness). My very favorite is Catch Them Being Good, where you praise people when they do what you like and it leads to them doing more of it. Many others are related, such as Dangle a Carrot (offer an incentive) and Honey First (try starting with nice). There is nothing earth-shattering or new, but the author has compiled these tips and tools that are both time-tested and true, and will be as useful to everyone else as he has found them in his own life. This pleasant book is a little gem that reminds you how to enjoy your relationships and increase the joy in your life using easy tools you probably already knew, but may have forgotten.