And for those who are skeptical that soft skills can make all the difference, I post this thread a while ago:
"Corley conducted a survey by interviewing 233 wealthy people who make $160,000 or more in annual income and hold at least $3.2 million in net liquid assets (177 of whom were self-made, coming from poverty or the middle class) and 128 poor people who make less than $35,000 per year and have less...
www.thefastlaneforum.com
So what soft skills? I think just being personable is major one. Just the ability to make people feel good in your presence makes people want to be around you. Read "How to Win Friends and Influence People."
Gallup found that the only factor that reliable predicts the outcome of presidential elections is a candidate’s
likability.
A Columbia University study by Melinda Tamkins shows that success in the workplace is guaranteed not by what or whom you know but by your popularity. In her study, Tamkins found that, "popular workers were seen as trustworthy, motivated, serious, decisive and hardworking and were recommended for fast-track promotion and generous pay increases. Their less-liked colleagues were perceived as arrogant, conniving and manipulative. Pay rises and promotions were ruled out regardless of their academic background or professional qualifications."
The Gallup organization has conducted a personality factor poll prior to every presidential election since 1960. Only one of three factors - issues, party affiliation, and likeability, has been a consistent prognosticator of the final election result. Of course, the factor is likeability.
Doctors give more time to patients they like and less to those they don't. According to a 1984 University of California study, there were significant differences in treatment, depending on the characteristics of the patient: The combination of likeable and competent was significant. Patients perceived as likeable and competent would be encouraged significantly more often to telephone and to return more frequently for follow-up than would the patients who were either unlikable and competent or likeable and incompetent. The staff would educate the likeable patients significantly more often than they would the unlikable patients."
In a survey of twenty-five hospital doctors initiated by Roy Meadow, a pediatrician at St. James’s University Hospital in Leeds, England, researchers studied what happens when both likeable and unlikable parents bring in children. Considering what you’ve already learned about likeability, it’s not surprising that children with likeable parents received better health care and were more likely to receive follow-up appointments.
Full post: Likeability
Other studies find that the biggest factor that predicts if someone is going to be hired by an interviewer is not their credentials, but again their likability.
Say you meet a new potential customer, a potential employer, or anyone with whom you want to establish a business relationship.
medium.com
So which soft skills besides likability?
Being trustworthy is another. People need to know you're going to do what you say you're going to do.
Self-control is
huge. Being able to not impulsively jump over the things you want and wait out for bigger rewards.
Focus. In his book Titans, Tim Ferris states that basically
every successful person engaged in some
meditation practice. Having an
internal Locus of Control. The realization that you have control over your life and not playing a victim.
Networking. Make friends with the people you want to be like. Pick their brains. Learn from them. Don't surround yourself with losers.
Generosity. Your income is directly correlated to how much value you've added to the world. (Besides a few sociopaths) your bank account is basically a measure of how much better you've made the world.
Staying educated. Keep learning. Keep staying on top of your field.
Not indulging too much in worldly pleasures. This one goes along with Self-control. Not to get all religious or anything, but if you have a vice for hooker, cocaine, getting drunk every night, eating junk-food, and a fetish porn addiction your life is going to be infinitely shitty in comparison to someone who's married to the love of their life, goes to the gym, eats well, and does the right thing. Look up the
Seven Deadly Sins vs the
Seven Heavenly Virtues. Speaking of which
exercise has amazing effects on the brain. Exercise, eating right, meditation, a good social life are all worth their weight in diamonds.
Just work on being a good, well-rounded person and everything else falls into place. You can be the best ________ (insert skill here) in the world, but if you don't have the other things in place, it's not going to get you very far.
Steve Jobs... what were his hard skills? Was he a great programmer? Was he a great designer? He did none of those things. He hired people who did. Mark Zuckerburg is not the top programmer at Facebook. Bill Gates was ever the top programmer at Microsoft. Sure, hard skills matter.. but the ability to manage people is often much more important.
