Two-Gun Crowley
Crowley was a dangerous criminal famous for wielding two guns and being a cold-blooded murderer. He was captured amidst what was described as the most violent end to a NYPD manhunt to date in 1931. He is also the most unlikely character to pop up among the many stories of the famous which Carnegie relates to illustrate his advice. In this case, it was Crowley’s own conflicting perspective on himself found in a letter written while besieged inside his hideout. Crowley wrote—in stark contrast to how the public viewed him—that “Under my coat is a weary heart, but a kind one - one that would do nobody any harm.” Crowley is placed alongside such other notorious figures as Al Capone and Dutch Schultz as examples of the lengths people will go to rationalize their most horrific acts.
Tippy
In terms of actual appearance, Tippy would be considered not even a minor character; he shows up on the scene in something more closely approximating a cameo. Thematically, however, Tippy is pervasive, showing up in some way on nearly every page. Tippy was the author’s childhood best friend. Tippy is primarily symbolic, however, because his significance is not him specifically, but his species: dog. The unconditional love, affection and interest that a beloved dog expresses in everything its beloved owner does is emblematic of Carnegie’s foundation for learning to influence people: make it about them, not about you. The adult Carnegie learned that the reason he loved Tippy so much was because Tippy’s life revolved around him. Make people think that they are as important as an owner is to its dog and the world is your oyster.
Lady Smith
Lady Smith is a woman who married into the British aristocracy and delivers new baby into the world every single day. In reality, Lady Smith is an unidentified patient of the head of a psychiatric hospital whose unfulfilled desires for social status, a loving husband and a house filled with children eventually drove her into a state of complete delusion. The point of telling her story, however, is this: the psychiatrist then goes on to say he wouldn’t cure her of this delusion if he could because she is much happier and harming neither herself nor anyone else. The moral? Influencing others often becomes an exercise in maintaining their harmless delusions.
The Phone Company Complainer
He remains unidentified, but is one of the most significant characters in the book: a man who became notorious among those working for the New York Telephone Company customer service department as the most infamous chronic complainer in history. He became well-known through a series of abusive encounters with those reps, letters to the editor of newspapers and lawsuits filed with the Public Service Commission. His story becomes the central metaphor for the effectiveness of Carnegie’s advice to treat others with respect. After one particular customer service rep testing a technique of allowing him to patient rage and rave until he wore himself out, the story climaxes with the man’s decision to withdraw his lawsuits and stop complaining, thus illustrating much of Carnegie’s contention that influencing people is largely a case study in people management.
John Dewey
Dewey, praised by the author as “one of America’s most profound philosophers” is a significance character due to one single phrase. Dewey contends that the primal urge driving all human nature can be boiled down to just one thing: “the desire to be important." So essential is this contention to Carnegie’s framework for influencing others, he immediately repeats it and cautions readers to remember because they are going to “hear a lot about it in this book.”
