I read this as slightly unfocused, noting that we seem to hire for cultural fit instead of competence, but also noting that the design of open spaces makes it hard for people to get work done if they aren't social.

To me this conflates a few things that I'm not sure are necessarily true. In some sense we deal more with cultural fit because we have so many more people to work with, and the work spans more than performing our own task. However it's also because we want to ensure that we keep people for a long time since hiring is expensive and arduous.

On the other hand, the sheer growth in numbers of people in this business, or any other, means that some skills will water down. It's the chef problem on a massive scale. In some sense, this means we get lots of people in the business with few skills, other than perhaps selling themselves. I'm not sure this is different than any other business that pays well. Everyone will try to sneak in. The key is trying to keep those out that have no desire to learn or improve.

I value social skills and cultural fit over competence. However that doesn't mean, or imply, that it's one or the other. Competence is important, and anyone doing the work needs to have some talent and desire to do so. However if they are lacking slightly in places, I can teach them the technical skills. Much harder to teach them a personality.

However that's guidance, not an iron-clad rule. There are some incredible developers that have very poor social skills. They can still be used, but in appropriate ways. These are people you often don't place in front of clients, or vice-presidents, precisely because of their skills.