Most people know this, yet managers focus on learning the latest methods, tools, trends and buzz words. But perhaps we should really spend far more time studying people. Finding out what drives people, why they act, think and think the way they do.

One place to start is by reading an almost 80-year-old classic. Dale Carnegie's “How to Win Friends and Influence People” from 1963. Although the material is old, the title comes up again and again when talking about personal development and social interactions. And it makes sense, because Carnegie deals in the book with some of the fundamental, immutable principles that govern all human interactions.

Some of the advice will probably make most people smile a little today, but others still contain a certain wisdom. The dynamic between people hasn't changed that much since 1936.

According to Dale Carnegie, this is how you become a kinder person:

• Do not criticize, condemn or complain.
  The only result of criticism is that the person you criticize becomes your opponent.
• Express honest and sincere gratitude.
  One of our deepest needs is the need to feel important. One way to evoke this feeling in people is to show that you appreciate what they are doing.
• Awaken a burning desire in the other.
  You do this by focusing on what the want, instead of on what you want to.
• Be genuinely interested in others.
  You will make more friends by being genuinely interested in others than by trying to get others to be interested in you.
• Smile.
  Make sure your smile is genuine. A fake smile is quickly seen through.
• Remember other people's names.
  As Carnegie writes: “ […] a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language”
• Listen properly. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
  The secret to good conversation is to get the other person talking about themselves. Ask questions based on genuine interest.
• Speak from the other person's interests.
  And they will, in turn, become interested in you.
• Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely.