The Hard Truth About Soft Skills: Workplace Lessons Smart People Wish They'd Learned Sooner

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.

Customer Reviews:

Story after story

By Bob - May 21, 2010

This book is extremely heavy on anecdote. Nearly every page has one or two "real life" examples illustrating the author's points. As a result, the book is very easy to read, but it's not very instructive.

If you are impressed by the abundance of 5-star Amazon reader reviews, you shouldn't be. Many of them look like shills: they're heavily clustered at the start of the book's availability; the reviewers have no other reviews; many mention the author by her first name and describe her personality rather than the book itself. It's really sad that so many authors, publishers and agents feel they are entitled to "game" the Amazon review system.

Be nice. Ok, got it.

By B. Bryner "Gonzo" - May 15, 2008

More or less a book about being nice at work. More of general guidelines as opposed to structured advice on learning to deal with people. Perhaps a good launch pad, but a little thin in content.

Very good, but not great.

By Rick Wingender - December 28, 2009

It's a good book, but definitely not definitive. I'd consider it more of a "primer" than anything because it doesn't go into great depth or detail. It's only 175 pages so I got through it in two nights; it's a very easy read. Most of it seemed like refresher (which I admittedly needed) from other books I've read or training I've taken. Another reviewer wished she'd had this as a college graduation present - actually, this would be a good book for anyone just starting their first job, simply to create awareness of the importance of soft skills. Since finishing this book, I've started reading "Secrets to Winning at Office Politics", which goes much deeper into the topic, and so far, I'd highly recommend it.

AVAILABILITY
Merchant	Format	Price
Amazon US	Paperback	$3.98 - $14.99
eBooks.com	Digital (PDF)	$8.99
BookByte	Paperback	$11.21
eCampus	Paperback	~~$12.74~~ discount!