Gotta love these sensationalist titles.
No, you will not perish if you're not people-smart.
There are plenty of entrepreneurs that have won by, you know, enterprising in areas where their lack of people skills didn't hold them back. Some of them went on to run social networks..
Zuckerberg? Okay, I guess... but I don't know...you were not specific.
Perish does not literally mean die, it's a play on the saying "Publish or Perish" meaning you don't advance.