People skills in "soft skills" and interpersonal skills of employees. In organizations, improving people skills became a specialized role of the corporate trainer. By the mid-1930s, Dale Carnegie popularized people skills in "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" worldwide. In the 1960s, US schools introduced people-skills topics and methods—often as a way to promote better self-esteem, communication and social interaction. These encompassed psychologist Thomas Gordon's "Effectiveness Training" variations as well as many other training programs. The first documented use of the phrase "people skills" was around 1970. The SCANS report states that business,
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (memoir) published that same year. Young's book does not reference either Carnegie's or Tressler's works. The aggregate site iDreamBooks lists 12 mixed reviews. The book was adapted into a one-man play that played on London's West End for several months each in 2003 and 2004. Young was initially played by Jack Davenport, then by Young himself. A feature-length film adaptation, also titled "How to Lose Friends & Alienate People", was released in October 2008. It is directed by Robert B. Weide and stars Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, and Megan Fox. The film is loosely based on the book, turning the plot