Learn or leave the market

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HARD SKILLS VS SOFT SKILLS
First, I would like to remind you of the meaning of hard skills. This term 
is used to refer to technical knowledge or abilities that are easy to iden-
tify and demonstrate. As a rule, you can learn these skills at specialist 
training courses or seminars, or by reading professional literature and 
through practice. For example, hard skills include:
▶
knowledge of foreign languages;
▶
ability to code in C++ (or another programming language);
▶
speed typing;
▶
speed reading, etc.
Soft skills, on the other hand, are not as specialized but are important 
for general success in life. These skills are acquired from experience 
and often over the course of your entire life, without any particular 
effort on your part. These are above- professional skills that allow you 
to become more productive, persuasive, etc. Soft skills are subjective 
and difficult to assess. Some of them could even be your innate quali-
ties. For example:
▶
discipline
▶
sense of purpose
▶
patience;
▶
critical thinking;
▶
sense of teamwork
According to Fortune magazine, hard skills constitute only 25 % of the 
success of the richest people and companies, while the remaining 
75 % depends on soft skills. However, from the employment point 
of view, hard skills are more important and significant. Whether you are 

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 Chapter 7. Skills of Businessmen and Leaders of the Future.
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suitable for a particular job or not depends on your hard skills, while 
soft skills play a supporting role. For example, they can help you get 
the job if your competitor has the same hard skills as you, but you have 
more soft skills.
You can master programming, but what is the point if you do not know 
how to work in a team or cannot socialize? Therefore, soft skills affect 
your career growth: you can be a programmer, but you will not become 
a boss.