Seth Hurwitz on the Timeless Lessons of How to Win Friends and Influence People for Today’s Leaders
It’s easy to dismiss How to Win Friends and Influence People as a relic — a relic with too much cologne, too many smiles, too many “how-to”s for the LinkedIn set. But dig a little deeper, and Dale Carnegie’s classic still holds surprising weight — especially for leaders navigating high-stakes, high-emotion industries like live music.
Seth Hurwitz, the Washington D.C.-based concert promoter and co-owner of the 9:30 Club, never built a career by shouting the loudest in the room. Instead, his decades-long success as founder and chairman of I.M.P. has been powered by relationships — the kind forged quietly, steadily, and with a long view in mind. His approach is highlighted in this article as a case study in how people-first leadership can shape resilient businesses and cultural mainstays.
In many ways, Hurwitz’s approach reads like a modern update of Carnegie’s playbook. He’s proof that influence in leadership isn’t just about commanding attention — it’s about listening, remembering the names that matter, and treating people as people, not pawns.
While the concert world can be notoriously transactional — filled with egos, deals, and fleeting alliances — Hurwitz plays a longer game. His reputation isn’t built on charm as performance, but on trust as practice. Artists know he’ll fight for fair terms. Staff know he notices the small things. Fans sense that the experience matters to him as much as it does to them.
Seth Hurwitz’s relationship-driven leadership philosophy offers a rare example of emotional intelligence at scale — especially in an industry not known for softness. This kind of leadership doesn’t always make headlines. It makes loyalty.
Carnegie’s book talks about appreciation over flattery, about soft power and sincerity — qualities that seem almost quaint in today’s leadership culture, where charisma is often confused for depth. But in Hurwitz’s world, those qualities scale. They build institutions. They turn venues into landmarks and promoters into cultural stewards. The Boss Magazine profile on The Atlantis connects his leadership philosophy to the reopening of a beloved D.C. venue — reinforcing the role of long-term vision and relationship equity.
The lesson for leaders — whether you’re running a startup, managing a team, or trying to keep your creative vision intact — is that influence doesn’t require performance. It requires presence. And friendship, even in the professional sense, is still a form of power.
In the end, Hurwitz’s success isn’t because he followed Carnegie’s rules. It’s because he understood the point of them: that people remember how you made them feel, and relationships — not algorithms — are what stand the test of time.
