I've found that at large companies, employees touted as having great soft skills often lack the ones that I consider key for productivity: communication, integr

I've found that at large companies, employees touted as having great soft skills often lack the ones that I consider key for productivity: communication, integrity, responsibility, and work ethic. Meanwhile, engineers possessing all of the above traits as well as hard skills are told to develop their other soft skills (i.e. positive attitude, courtesy, and professionalism) to make themselves more palatable to the inept. In a vicious cycle, the feeling that everything is focused around appeasing those that contribute the least is enough to erode many engineers' soft skills. Enter the dead sea.