This study on successful people showed that technical expertise constituted less than 15 percent of the reason for their success. A full 85 percent of a person's success in life was due to "skill in human engineering." The ability to communicate and get along with people was much more important that technical expertise.

Highlighting the point made by Carnegie was a study coducted by the U.S. Census Bureau of Hiring, Training and Management. Three thousand employers were asked, "What are the two top skills you look for when hiring people?" The top six skills were:

1.good attitude
2.good communication skills
3.previous working experience
4.what a previous employer had said about the employee
5.how much training the employee had
6.how many years of schooling the employee had completed.