I was listening a bit to NPR the other day, and they were discussing something called paper tigers. The paper tigers refer to Asian students who seem to dominate test scores in school but fail to achieve higher-level success in the work force.
Surprisingly this often isn't a case of The Man keeping them down - one of the reporters stated that her own experiences with this phenomenon were based on cultural reasons, not skill.
According the the reporter, she comes from a culture that emphasizes hard work. Just keep your head down and keep at it and you will be successful. Japan itself even has a phrase: The nail that stands up gets hammered down.
So then how does that apply to a white geek? Well a lot of us tend to be introverts. Until I all but forced myself into being an extrovert I really struggled with a lot of professional issues (as well as, of course, social ones).
Think of it like this: I have to technicians, but I have to let one go due to rightsizing. Both technicians are of equal skill, and both complete their work on time, under budget, and without flaw.
One however will spend about fifteen minutes a day in my office as we have idle banter. The other... I really don't talk to him that often. He mostly sits at his desk all day working quietly. I barely know him, while I kinda like the guy that comes in my office.
Who do you think I fire?
There is more than that, and you don't actually have to LIKE you're coworkers either. Just make some small banter, ask how your weekend was, ask how they're doing. Ask about hobbies and family. Don't over do it either, no one likes a kiss-ass. But a little social interaction can go a long way.
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