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Ask HN: What are your best “soft skill” resources?

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11–20 of 69 posts

Re: Ask HN: What are your best “soft skill” resources?

#11

Always a risk to self-promote, but last month our team launched our Compass Platform - Behavioral Indicators and associated support to help business founders and leadership teams in private enterprise [1]. I've found these are more balanced, so work better than tools like DISC and Myers-Briggs, which tend to 'put people into a box' and therefore work against creating an inclusive environment. The four soft skills the…

Parent was downvoted with no comment, didn't seem unusually spammy so I at least upvoted it again. I notice that even after my upvote it hadn't crossed 0 so it seems it wasn't a single downvote. People: If you downvote others for non-obvious reasons, please leave a note on why.

Yes, got a couple of early downvotes likely due to the self-referencing answer. I don't worry - unless there is some specific feedback or criticism shared, it normally balances back out in the end.

Re: Ask HN: What are your best “soft skill” resources?

#13
You might try Toastmasters. Once you get past the first few "nervousness" lessons they focus on how to convey meaning with speech. Every chapter is different, so YMMV. Several of the speeches you have to prepare cover persuasion, motivation, and how to structure a speech so that everyone remembers exactly what you want them to remember. They teach through having you give a series of 5-7 minute speeches, but I've found the practice helpful beyond giving a formal talk.

Re: Ask HN: What are your best “soft skill” resources?

#14
post #3

how to win friends and influence people - Dale Carnegie.

The title of the book put me off, but it worthwhile to read. Some of the stuff seems basic, but we all (speaking as a developer) had to learn the basics of computer programming, too.

Re: Ask HN: What are your best “soft skill” resources?

#16

1) Tactical Office Politics http://www.manager-tools.com/2013/04/politics-101-chapter-3-... http://www.manager-tools.com/2013/05/politics-101-chapter-3-... " This guidance probably should have been Chapter 1 of our Politics 101 series. It’s foundational. It’s a HUGE problem for many professionals, particularly young – and dare we say it, naïve – professionals. So many young people say, “I don’t ‘play politics.’” The…

>’” The more savvy folks around them think, that’s good, because this isn’t a ‘game’ you can ‘play.’ "

Politics strikes me as something very atavistic. I avoid people who play politics at all costs - I simply can't imagine anything good coming from them.

Re: Ask HN: What are your best “soft skill” resources?

#17
Made to Stick, by Chip and Dan Heath [1]. They ask "how is it that certain ideas seem to stick our minds better than others?", and give concrete advice on how to improve the stickiness of your own ideas. I've found it useful to avoid forgettable business waffle that fails to change people's minds nor behaviour. One of the many examples they give is of Nordstrom (a fashion retailer). They could have said "we want to delight our customers". Instead, they use stories of employees that embodied those principles: ironing a shirt for a customer that needed it that afternoon, refunding tyre chains even though Nordstrom doesn't sell tyre chains.

[1] http://www.amazon.co.uk/Made-Stick-ideas-others-unstuck-x/dp...

Re: Ask HN: What are your best “soft skill” resources?

#18
For negotiation, I can recommend: Getting More, http://www.amazon.com/Getting-More-Negotiate-Succeed-Work/dp...

The author, Stuart Diamond, gives workshops at my company. I was able to attend one early at my tenure there and the book and workshop helped me understand how to use negotiation to get what I want.

Re: Ask HN: What are your best “soft skill” resources?

#19

1) Tactical Office Politics http://www.manager-tools.com/2013/04/politics-101-chapter-3-... http://www.manager-tools.com/2013/05/politics-101-chapter-3-... " This guidance probably should have been Chapter 1 of our Politics 101 series. It’s foundational. It’s a HUGE problem for many professionals, particularly young – and dare we say it, naïve – professionals. So many young people say, “I don’t ‘play politics.’” The…

>’” The more savvy folks around them think, that’s good, because this isn’t a ‘game’ you can ‘play.’ " Politics strikes me as something very atavistic. I avoid people who play politics at all costs - I simply can't imagine anything good coming from them.

Recognizing such people is itself a skill, which can be learned.
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