I had a meeting this morning at Mall of the Emirates. On my way out of there, walking past the wonderful shops, I decided to walk into the Jimmy Choo shoe shop. 

I made it very clear to the wonderful sales lady that I was not about to buy anything, but that I was intrigued to know what the big deal was about. Why is it that so many ladies want to buy Jimmy Choo shoes – and are willing to pay decent sums of money for them.

Well… she told me the story of Jimmy Choo. How he started. How hard he worked. And how Princess Diana was the one who really ‘put him on the map’ when she started to wear his shoes. She also showed me the ‘Princess shoes’ that were designed for the Cinderella movie. How cool is that??! Here is a picture of the ‘glass slipper.’

As I left the shop, she asked me what I do. I told her that I train managers in people skills and that, whilst many people are promoted to management based on their technical skills, they are rarely equipped with the necessary people skills to manage, motivate and develop a team effectively. She agreed, saying that – in retail – many top salespeople are promoted to management and, when they are, it’s all about the numbers… not about the people.

Whilst people skills (soft skills) are less tangible and, therefore, not as easy to measure, I explained that… IF I had bought any shoes from her today, it would have been because of her and her wonderful soft skills. 

Because Soft Skills deliver Hard Results!

Opinion PIECE: Corrina Cross

Trainer / Speaker / People Development Specialist

www.corrinacross.com. / www.the-people-people.com