Dealing with people is probably the biggest problem you face, especially if you are in business. Yes, and that is also true if you are a housewife, architect or engineer.

Carnegie’s remark frames “people problems” as the central difficulty of modern life, not a niche concern of salesmen or executives. By listing business alongside domestic and technical professions, he argues that interpersonal skill is a universal competency: the ability to persuade, cooperate, manage conflict, and sustain goodwill often determines outcomes more than specialized knowledge. The quote reflects Carnegie’s broader project—popularizing human-relations training in the early 20th century—by insisting that success and peace of mind hinge on understanding human nature. It also subtly elevates emotional intelligence as a practical tool, treating communication and empathy as learnable techniques rather than innate traits.