Numerous studies demonstrate that working with people is the most stressful part of a job. In her 2024 revised edition of the book "The Job Is Easy, The People Are Not!" Prof. Loredana Padurean frames qualities like emotional maturity, humility, adaptability, and cognitive readiness as smart - not soft - skills, essential in managing the most complex of variables: people. Through 10 interviews with professional and academic leaders, the book helps us navigate the complex waters of working with others and offers practical suggestions on how to develop our own smart skills. And hopefully, we will realize that we are the people that make the job harder than it should be!