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Could someone please define "soft skills"? What is it about them that makes them "soft"?

Long before becoming chairman and chief executive of Affiliated Managers Group, Sean Healey was a young Harvard law-school student with dreams of a career in academia. Then he decided that a solitary life spent pondering legal theory was not what he wanted. Seduced by the pitch of a Goldman Sachs banker promising an atmosphere of "brilliant, focused, and switched-on people," he accepted a full-time job with the New York investment bank, after serving as a summer associate there. He headed to the firm's headquarters to meet with the partners.

Whisked to the trading floor, he was presented to Stephen Friedman, known for his tough and intimidating presence, and who eventually went on to head Goldman. Healey stuck out his hand in greeting. Friedman immediately put him in a Russian headlock, a move in which Healey's head was tucked under Friedman's arm and locked in by Friedman's torso and other arm. To Friedman, a national collegiate wrestling champion at Cornell, Healey wasn't just any new hire, but a former Harvard wrestler and worthy opponent.

In seconds, Healey decided that escaping risked embarrassing his future boss. Staying put wasn't an option, either, for fear that Friedman would think he was a wimp. "Instead, I took a really hard grip on his arm, so it was hurting him to hold me," recalls Healey. "He eventually let me go, and we had our conversation."

It was the right move, allowing each to come out a winner.