In this article, the authors talk about the importance of soft skills for hard-core technical professionals. In many technical professions, the complete focus of education and training is on technical topics either directly or indirectly related to a career or discipline. Students are generally required to master various mathematics skills, science skills and detailed technical skills directly related to the specific discipline they are planning to enter. This curriculum is critical to their success, and yet the fast-paced, global marketplace of today is demanding more. Technical professionals in various disciplines such as information technology, engineering, architecture, and research and development are increasingly required to broaden their skill sets to master the so-called soft skills. Soft skills, as defined by Wikipedia, are "the cluster of personality traits, social graces, facility with language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that mark people to varying degrees. Soft skills complement hard skills, which are the technical requirements of a job." Furthermore, the authors present the three driving forces behind business leaders' increasing demand for a broader skill set from technical professionals: (1) necessity for improvements to the bottom line; (2) increasing competition; and (3) globalization.