My reaction to the table of contents was similar to yours, and I think it was a poor choice of words to summarize the first section.

Maybe something like "Hire customer-oriented engineers" would've been a better title for section one.

I think the "grit" and expertise in core technology are also important points, but it doesn't hook a reader the same way as saying "don't hire an engineer that can't adapt to the customer" (gloss over the double negative)