The Case for Soft Skills in an AI-Powered World
Everyone is overlooking the most important differentiator
👋Hello, my friend. This week, I’m here to tell you why learning how to smile and use people’s names might be more important than mastering AI prompt engineering.
Let’s do it!
Intentional Wisdom x Peloton 🚲💪
But before we do…
I hit two big milestones this week — 1000 rides and 800 strength workouts.
Even got my name called out by past podcast guest and all-around great guy, Matt Wilpers.
Fun stuff.
I’m now doing the Density 2 program again. It’s 4 weeks of pretty intense strength training. Highly recommend if you’re into that sort of thing.
Here’s the link to join my Peloton group. But we need a new challenge… what should it be? 🤔
When AI and Soft Skills Collide (Soft Skills win!)
There’s a conventional view—one that I think is right—that AI is about to transform all of our lives, especially in the workplace.
I’ve written about this before.
Many of us are already using a number of AI tools and it seems like this trend is only heading in one direction.
And while that brings a lot of opportunity, it also brings a lot of concern—especially when it comes to the future of work.
What happens when AI takes over the basics?
There’s particular concern for young people just coming out of college—people used to doing the entry-level stuff: the manual calculations, the note-taking, the data analysis.
What happens when that work no longer needs to be done by a human?
What happens when anyone can instantly generate a high-quality presentation or build a complex model—on demand, for free?
What does that mean for how people—especially young ones—add value in the workplace?
The fast track to unemployment?
I don’t necessarily believe this all leads straight to mass job loss or universal basic income.
Sure, we’ll inevitably see job losses. But there are other factors at play.
One of the most compelling arguments I’ve heard recently came from David Friedberg on the All-In podcast. He said: if you’re a company and your return on invested capital jumps from 2x to 20x because of AI, are you going to invest more in that business—or less?
Basic economics tells us: you invest more.
So the argument goes—businesses are going to want to grow. They’re going to expand. We’ll see huge productivity gains. And yes, jobs will change. But new ones will also emerge.
So what will differentiate people?
Let’s say you’re a new grad. You did all the right things. Got good grades. Worked on your technical skills—including, most likely, learning how to use AI.
You show up at your first job, and you realize: they may not need someone to crank through spreadsheets or take endless notes anymore.
So what do they need?
Well, for one, they’ll need someone who knows how to use AI. There are already plenty of people in the workforce who have domain expertise—but most of them have no clue how to use these new tools.
Maybe we’ll see a generational trade: domain knowledge for AI expertise.
But I want to take a slightly contrarian view and say this—if technical skills become commoditized, then human skills—or soft skills—may well become the differentiator.
And that’s kind of the main point of this article.
What are soft skills, anyhow?
I’m talking about how you interact with people. The stuff that Dale Carnegie wrote about in the 1920s in How to Win Friends and Influence People—things like:
Smiling
Making eye contact
Using people’s names
It turns out that smiling is incredibly powerful. It exponentially increases the chances that people will like you. Don’t believe me? Check out this TED Talk on the hidden power of smiling.
It’s not just smiling though. Eye contact builds trust. People love hearing the sound of their own names.
And then there are the little things:
Showing up on time
Sending short thank-you notes—not just for interviews, but anytime someone helps you
Saying thank you 100 times a day—I wrote a chapter about this in my book, Say Good Morning, Like a Human
Being honest, being vulnerable, letting people know who you really are
These things matter. They always have. But now? They might matter even more—when those technical skills are more commoditized by the day.
Communication is still powerful
AI is going to make all of us better writers. It’s going to help us clarify our thoughts, summarize meetings, and communicate more effectively.
That’s great.
But your “performance” in in-person interactions (or even Zoom meetings, I guess…) remains massively important.
There’s still something powerful about being able to confidently walk into a room and represent yourself (or your company) well, and make a strong impression.
There are less people who can do this than there used to be.
If you’re a parent, wondering how to make your kid stand out among a sea of straight-A-getting, varsity-sport-captaining, charity-starting, patent-holding, multiple-language-knowing, overachieving 18-year-olds, this may be it.
Being able to hold a conversation. Being engaged and engaging. Being friendly, courteous, and curious. These are differentiators.
A real-life moment of reflection
Recently, my nephew visited my office for the day. I introduced him to a number of people I didn’t even know, with the idea that he might learn something or make a few contacts.
And seeing it through his eyes, I realized:
Wow, I’m using people’s names constantly.
I’m saying thank you nonstop.
I’m smiling a ton.
I’m not making a conscious effort to do these things. It’s just on autopilot after 25 years of similar workplace interactions.
But seeing it through a nineteen-year-old’s eyes reminded me that these were, indeed, learned behaviors (mostly on the job).
It got me thinking: how much of any success I’ve had in my career is because of these soft skills?
My best guess? 70% soft skills, 30% technical skills. And I might even be underestimating the soft skills.
What if you’re not naturally outgoing?
My nephew—probably exhausted from 8 in-person intro meetings in one day—asked me—do you think you’re an introvert or extrovert?
By the classic definition, I think I’m an introvert. I love spending time alone. That’s how I recharge.
But I also spent 12 years in sales. I had to learn to “turn on the charm.” I hate that phrase. Let’s say I learned how to be extra social when I needed to be.
And I still do that. I host a podcast. I manage people. I’m in meetings all the time.
I need to be able to connect on a human level. I enjoy it in many cases.
And I’ve learned: You don’t need to be an extrovert to have great interactions with others.
But you do need to develop your soft skills so you can lean on them when the time is right.
Professionalism is a soft skill, too
Soft skills aren’t just about handshakes and eye contact. They’re also about how you carry yourself in the workplace.
That means:
Don’t be crude
Don’t gossip
Don’t complain all the time
Praise publicly, criticize privately
Treat others the way you’d want to be treated
I’ve always liked the idea that anything you say or do should be something you’d be comfortable seeing on the front page of the Wall Street Journal—or something you’d be okay with your grandmother reading.
Have I always lived up to this standard? Nope. I’ve fallen short more times than I can count. But it’s a north star I aim for.
Being kind. Being optimistic. Being professional.
It’s actually insane how much of one’s career success comes down to these seemingly simple things.
I think if most people saw a transcript of what came out of their mouths on any given day in the office, they would be absolutely shocked at how negative they actually are.
If you’re the opposite, it’s almost hard not to succeed.
Teaching our kids to be good humans
Nothing makes me sadder than seeing a family of four or five at dinner—all staring at their devices. Not talking. Just staring in silence.
It’s a lost opportunity to build these soft skills that are so important.
We all know that we’ve got a generation of kids who are less comfortable with face-to-face human interaction.
And I’m not here to be judgmental—we’ve all put iPads in front of our kids at some point.
But we have a responsibility.
We need to raise kids who know how to interact with people. Who can shake hands. Who can ask how someone’s doing—and care about the answer.
We need to let them be bored. We need to create space for real conversation and curiosity.
This is going to become more important, not less.
Final thought
So here’s where I land on all of this.
I’m trying to stay smart on AI. I’m experimenting. I’m learning. I’m encouraging my kids to get familiar with these tools—because they’re going to live with them their whole lives. And because they may very well be the ones showing their elders how to use them.
But I’m also trying not to lose focus on the human stuff.
I’m trying to teach my kids how to hold a conversation. How to ask a good question. How to look someone in the eye and really listen to their answer.
I’m trying to show them what human interaction should look like. To thank people more than necessary. To treat others with respect. To admit when they’re wrong.
Basically… to be a good human.
Because if AI is going to do more of the technical work, then maybe what will matter more over time are the things that make us human.
And that’s what I’m trying to hang on to.
That’s it for this week. But before you go…
Content Diet
Podcast: Andrew Huberman x Michael Easter
I absolutely loved this conversation. Easter is best known for his book The Comfort Crisis. His whole thing is this: Our lives are too easy. And it’s making us weak, uninteresting, depressed and unhealthy. We need to do hard things. Things that push us past what we think are our limits. Give it a listen and let’s discuss.
Book: Smart Brevity
I’m on a big-time Smart Brevity kick. This short book was written by the founders of Axios and is all about how to communicate more effectively.
Their mantra is: Brevity is confidence. Length is fear. If you want to improve your writing — even just your emails and texts. Read this book. You’re going to start seeing its principles show up in my writing more and more.
See you next week!
Greg