The People Principle: Salesteamtools Book Review

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The People Principle is the quiet little people-skills book that no one knows about.

Written in the mid-1990s by Ron Willingham, author and founder of Integrity Selling and other training and development programs, it’s a perfect follow-up to How to Win Friends and Influence People.

The Big Idea(s): Build people. Give them reasons to believe in themselves. This book would fall under the “general business” or “leadership” sections, not sales, but as with the previous two books we’ve covered as part of the Salesteamtools Book Reviews program, we’re working from the inside out.

Ron Willingham does a good job in this book of focusing not simply on your attitude about treating other people. He zeros in on your beliefs about yourself, and how they trigger your attitudes and feelings.

Quick Take on the First 25 Pages

You’ll be introduced to an interesting concept. Ron Willingham introduces and explains his three dimensions of human behavior. I detail those three much further back — here.

The fuel to your behavior is your thinking. We all know that. We think we should do something, or not do something, based on the moment. Those thoughts are driven by our feelings, also often based on the moment. But here’s where most positive-thinking gurus stop attempting to influence you, and where this book comes in.

Hidden for many of us, lurking behind our feelings and emotions, is what we really think of ourselves — who we really are. This part of you includes your habits, values, and self-beliefs. If it’s flawed, if it’s beaten up, your feelings will follow…your thoughts will be skewed…and your behaviors will always fall short.

So where future books in the Salesteamtools Book Review program will focus largely on what-you-do from angles new and old, this book is an important read because it helps you take a look inside at the who-you-are.

Now, having said all of that, it’s tough to find. Amazon can link you to used copies of it, but you may also find it elsewhere. Good luck in THAT search, and you’ll be glad you read “The People Principle.”