Dale Carnegie Folks Need Friends Too

You know times are tough when the president of Dale Carnegie has to work to keep up a positive outlook.

For 80 years, Dale Carnegie & Associates has proselytized a homespun philosophy for winning friends and influencing people. More than 3.5 million people have taken the course, including Chrysler Chairman Lee A. Iacocca and actress Annette Bening.

Now the pioneer of the self-help movement is struggling because of the recession. Companies that normally send employees to $800 training sessions have cut back. And individuals find it harder to squeeze the tuition out of the household budget.

“It’s hard,” sighs the firm’s president, J. Oliver Crom.

The irony is that the reason the company exploded onto the national scene in the first place was hard times. A former salesman and actor from Missouri, Dale Carnegie began teaching his course in New York City in 1912. But it wasn’t until 1936, during the Great Depression, that he put his philosophy between hard covers.

It was the perfect tonic for a nation thirsty for hope. “How to Win Friends and Influence People” stayed on best-seller lists for 10 years.