"... We discovered that we could tell what performance group the interviewees belonged to within a minute or two by their attitudes toward people and politics.

"... We discovered that we could tell what performance group the interviewees belonged to within a minute or two by their attitudes toward people and politics. Individuals who were ranked low by their managers spoke of organizational politics as if it were poison. They were exceptionally annoyed by the people side of the business. ... They characterized the social side of organizations as "soft and gushy." They sounded like Spock turned bitter... The difference between them and those ranked at the bottom of the totem pole was clear. They had found a way to make peace with organizations, people, and politics. They climbed to the top of their field by mastering both hard things and soft and gushy people ..." Is this why people try so hard to be popular? Training for mastering the 'soft & gushy'?