The Hard Truth About Soft Skills: Soft Skills for Succeeding in a Hard Wor

by Peggy Klaus

What's the hard truth? Soft skills get little respect but will make or break your career. Master your soft skills and really get ahead at work!

Fortune 500 coach Peggy Klaus encounters individuals every day who excel at their jobs but aren't getting where they want to go. It's rarely a shortfall in technical expertise that limits their careers, but rather a shortcoming in their social, communication, and self-management behaviors. In The Hard Truth About Soft Skills Klaus delivers practical tools and techniques for mastering soft skills across the career spectrum. She shows how to:

manage your workload handle the critics develop and promote your personal brand navigate office politics lead the troops and much more!

Klaus reveals why soft skills are often ignored, while bringing their importance to life in her trademark style—straightforward, humorous, and motivating. Perfect for readers at all professional stages—from those who are just starting out to seasoned executives—this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to take his or her career to the next level.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Self Help, Psychology, Leadership, Professional Development, Personal Development

207 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 22, 2008

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was...average. Run of the mill business literature. Don't be a jerk. Listen to people. Treat everyone nicely. Yada, yada, yada. If you have read any books of this sort, you've heard it before. I had to grit my teeth through a couple of awkwardly worded sections (hey, guess what, the section on crying is addressed to women! And the section on being an insensitive bully is addressed to men! And women should be more like men! And men should remember to be nice to those fragile women!). Her heart was in the right place but good lord.

If it hadn't been short and readable, I doubt I would have finished it as it was rather dull. I expect she is a good coach, but I get the impression her strengths are in the specifics. Which makes writing a book tough, because it must necessarily deal in generalities.

[Obsidian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily digestible book about soft skills. Loved the examples the author provided.

[Tinea · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a ridiculous book. But do you know what's also ridiculous? CORPORATE NONPROFIT CULTURE IN LATE CAPITALISM IN THE INDUSTRIALIZED WORLD. Hooooboy, it is embarrassing to be the exact audience for this sexist doozy, but I will come clean to Goodreads: I found this generally informative and helpful! Things like "small talk is a crucial part of making connections with others," "be careful how you say no," "your boss wants you to figure it out," and how to turn resume bullet points into interesting narrative tidbits to drop as anecdotes instead of braggy/boring lists (or way worse in corporate america: silent humility). I wish there was a section on explaining away inappropriate tattoos and tactfully minding the line between incisive grasp of global systems and wingnuttery in verbal communications with norms, but for those of you out there who also need the crass, incomprehensible high schoolish logic of office culture laid out for you, there are very likely better books out there, but this one served me some.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good, if obvious, advice delivered through overly general cheerleading. The author is a motivational speaker, and it shows (and not in a good way). I think that for most people, the challenge is not that they don't realize things like communication and leadership skills are important, but that they have trouble building those skills and exercising them in the context of their own jobs. Some real-life examples with a little complexity (not the ones here, which are either invented or just really dumbed down) would have helped, as would more detail. If someone is a poor writer, it's not enough for them to read, "You need to be a good writer!"

[Coral Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. It had some good things to say about self-branding and remembering to be your own cheerleading squad, but it was mostly just fluffy feel good about these concepts stories and not a lot of real meat. Every point could have been broadened, given more examples and some practical application. Not bad, just not stunning either. A lot of common sense. (Think before you date your boss. The way your peers see you will trickle up to your boss. Self-presentation isn't just for the day of your review.)

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few interesting tidbits & little stories but mostly obvious advice and lists that thankfully don't have any use for me.

Like this one for instance:

1. Think of yourself as a cereal brand (which made me want rice krispies but that's besides the point)
2. Keep your brags fresh
3. Put the right words in their mouths

and on and on but I'll give this 2.5- 3 stars for the amusing true stories of people who show no manners, table or otherwise, in their place of employment.

[Desiree · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too short, I thought, so I suppose that's a good endorsement of sorts; I could have read more. I enjoyed this and it gave me quite a bit to think about. Many of us might wish we could force our bosses to read it as well (along with the classic "the No Asshole Rule").

It makes me a little sad that I am probably going to take down my 'passive aggressive notes' calendar page with little kid's writing that says "Dear Owen, I"m guna punch you n your face. Love, Emma," but I've already taken out my lebret piercing and attempted to dress more professionally so I guess it was only a matter of time before I sold out completely ;)

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book! It's fun to read, because it has lots of cool stories and I learned a lot! Here a good quote from the book: "Continuing to learn and improve yourself is good advice for everyone. No matter where you are in your career, whether just starting out or well on your way, you are always a work in progress" :).

[Salah Eddin · Rating 4 out of 5]

great and simple book , thank you peggy ^^

[Nicolas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can't recommend this book. I found it sexist, and full of platitudes with little guidance.

Wish I had read other reviews first. Also wish I was better at quitting books rather than finishing everything no matter how poorly they start.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can you "really like" a business book? I guess... I did enjoy it and read it kind of compulsively. I will recommend it to people.

The highlights: The subject matter! Peggy Klause talked a lot about mindfulness and taking control of your own destiny and branding and marketing yourself. She made a lot of common sense and I believe I should do pretty much everything she talked about in this book. Also, the book was very readable.

The lowlights: It was a little cheesy at times - like this weird radio station joke that Peggy kept going back to. And it bothered me that she aged each of the people in her examples. Thirty-one year old Julie, librarian and reader of this book, thought that was strange.

[Val Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised that I liked this book as much as I did. The author provides some really good tips on dealing with office politics as well as managing your job versus managing your career. What makes this book earn its 4th star is that it addresses concerns of gender, age, and cultural differences. While it touches on each tip for only about one to three (small paperback) pages, it provides some good tips. Some tips like "your boss wants YOU to figure it out" are more useful for those new to the workforce, while other tips like "keep your mouth shut" are surprising and useful for employees of any age.

[Ayesha Tariq · Rating 3 out of 5]

One the few self-help/ advice books that I managed to get through. Although the advice is mostly obvious, it is presented in a way that makes sense. Examples are concise and the author gets to the point quickly. The book is structured well and doesn't get too tiring to read. It's true this is not for people who need the extra help with problematic situations at work. It doesn't even offer a lot of career advice. But what it does offer is a broad perspective on general behaviour / actions at work. How we should conduct ourselves in general. Picked up a couple great points that I probably know but need to put into practice. Quick and worth the read.

[Agoes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Buku ini berisi kumpulan nasehat yang berkaitan dengan apa yang sebaiknya kita lakukan di tempat kerja. Beberapa nasehat yang ada memang bagus, tapi menimbulkan "ya ini sih semua orang juga tau kali". Ditambah lagi gaya penulisannya yang selalu berupa anekdot ("Pada suatu ketika, ada manajer bernama Joe, dia... [bla3x]") sehingga kesannya terlalu seperti dongeng dan kisah motivasi belaka. Meskipun demikian, kadang-kadang penulisnya memberikan contoh yang lebih konkrit sehingga buku ini masih ada bagian-bagian yang bagusnya.

[Sadie Newell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book after reading "Nice Girls Still Don't Get The Corner Office" which skewed my opinion of this book. Nice Girls... is a more updated, concise document that tells women the same thing: don't play with your hair, make sure you don't flirt with your boss and be a woman that doesn't take no for an answer. I found that this book didn't leave me inspired, and was a more difficult read. Soft skills or no, I don't recommend this book to anyone looking for advice in their professional life.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is offers a lot of insight in how to propel yourself in your current workplace and how to move forward of you're looking for a new job or a promotion in your current workplace. I have put some of these practices into use since reading the book a week ago and you really see the difference in how others respond to you. It is a great read for people who are becoming complacent in their current job and who are looking for a way to enhance themselves in their career field.

[Jeremy Carman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book. A lot of useful advice.

Something she had to say really bothered me. She apearntly has heard this enough to have to put it into her book. It went something like this "Don't even think just because they work under you you don't have to apologize!"

To me that form of statement speks load about a managment persons character. Specifically they probably think they are better than their underlings. :-(

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick and worthwhile read for me on my journey to be a better listener and better developer and supporter of people around me, whether at work or home or with friends. It was also interesting to learn about impostor syndrome, though it was mentioned quite briefly. I'm going to look into that a bit more. (One book down, likely two or three more to add to the list. A reader's dilemma.)

[Muhammad Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read / comprehend. Really practial stuff with some key learnings:
• Always consider yourself a work-in-progress.
• Office politics is inevitable
• Don't over do Branding and bragging. Do it with a soft touch to the soft skill of self-promotion.
• Avoid bad bragging: talking nonstop, interrupting, exaggerating, lying, stealing credit, name-dropping, etc.
• As a leader, control your temper, know how to rally the troops and be careful of what you say.

[Shana Kneib · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think staying atop current literature in the career section is important. This book was great in that it reminded me of some of the things you need to master outside of your technical knowledge in order to get ahead in the workplace. If you're trying to get ahead and want to know what it takes or how to improve your soft skills, I'd read this book.

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The ideas were good, but it reads like a corny motivational speech. There are reference that not everyone will understand and the explainations are too generalized. There are vauge references to studies but doesn't get any deeper. It is also clearly written for one personality type, which won't help about half of the working force out there

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are a manager, skim chapters 1-7, and read chapter 8. Some good reminders are hidden throughout the book. Chapter 8 has some good examples that drive home some points - know when to lead, treat everyone equally, be aware of what you say - they hang on your every word, and never be afraid to eat some humble pie. This book is short and readable in an afternoon or a couple of week nights.

[James Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book to provide one with the basic understanding of soft skills and how to make soft skills practical within any work environment. A great deal of common sense tactics were applied in this book, but we all comprehend the fact that common sense is not that common in most work milieus.

Dr. James Arthur Williams,
Author of From Thug to Scholar

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

A super quick read. I probably would have appreciated this more when I was just starting out in business (grad gift alert!). As it is I feel like I've already learned most of this stuff--some of it, sadly, the Hard Way.

[Unwisely · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another of the business book series. A pretty good one, although not as specific to my issues as I might have liked. There was a good bit about pulling together your 30 second brief, which has led me to request her other book specifically on that topic to read soon.

[Amy Barclay · Rating 2 out of 5]

This writer seemed very biased to me. Her views were very conservative and I didn't really care for some of her snarky comments she made. Some material in here was useful, but I don't recommend this book.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good career advice...you probably know this already, but it's good to be reminded.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really helpful. Anyone and I mean anyone will learn at least something from reading this

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

All good advice. Not much help on the "how" of all the good advice.

[Lell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third work book club book. Parts of it are hokey, but overall it has good messages that would apply to anyone in any type of work situation.