Robert Steven Kaplan: Assessing Your Strengths and Weaknesses

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[melliot]

Yet there are tons of people that hear this message several times and still don't do anything about it.
Starting with myself; I've been reading books and looked at all these motivational videos for the last few years. Yet I've not even started to achieve the success I wanted, why? Probably because I've continued to watch these videos and books, not getting my hands dirty and actually started doing something about it.

I'm starting now, you should too.

[Anderger]

I watched this because I wanted to get better at a skill based video game. He gave the same exact advice as every other video I've seen. So nothing new but at least it's consistent.

[uqox]

I think there's value in him mentioning that you have to be truly open to the feedback and that you have to let people know you're open to feedback in order to get qualitative feedback. It's obvious, right? Yet, clearly, at work we experience people who say they want to improve and are immediately defensive when they hear what they need to improve. I used a free course online course from Marcus Buckingham to identify my strengths & weaknesses, but only after I became fed up with a stagnant job.

[XanderKarr]

This guy's advice is so incredibly obvious. I've literally heard all of this stuff millions of times throughout life from people that think they're so very intelligent.

[HaploidCell]

Disagree: You can gather experience, self-analyse over a give time period, and figure out which skills you are better at than others. Or worse.
Job experience is a possible way to go.
But more general things also: I notice that I can compartmentalise pretty good. Means I can jugle mutliple assignements at a time and get back into an un-finished project rather quickly.
Problem is: If I don't have lots to do I have too much time to think and get bored really fast. Lose concentration. Make errors.

[nutsstudio]

WOW. These words are golden words I've ever heard.

[RoRoRoRonan]

Sometimes it's the things that are right under our noses which are the least obvious to us.

[XanderKarr]

I started a long time ago man, and your right - it is a mistake to think mindlessly listening to this advice when really we all know this is true. People like to think listening to this crap is action when it isn't at all. Good luck Elliot, I hope you accomplish your goals by starting to take command of ur life rather than sit behind a computer screen.

it maybe obvious for you, but not for others, the advice make sense, and the fact that you heard millions of times just reinforces, it might be true.

[Khannea]

My reply was essentially an assessment on how I perceived Robert Steven Kaslan to be. :)

[meteoramarc]

This advice isn't incredibly obvious, it's incredibly common. No one likes to take a cold solid look at themselves and say "hey, I'm bad at this but I can do this pretty well." People have defence mechanisms for this reason - we're all quick to judge but find it hard to accept criticism. Common advice, not obvious advice. Even with that in mind, does that make it anymore wrong? Not really. It's great advice and I'm sure he expands on it more in the book he's promoting.

[XanderKarr]

It's not a just do it thing, its a continuous process but yes I have.
Strengths: Charismatic, Efficient Leader, Creative Determined
Weaknesses: Stubborn, Arrogant, Impatient, Unemotional (Robotic)

[TheGregcawthorne]

This is one of the first guys I have ever heard speaking about life coaching that I didn't immediately think was full of shit.

[jinzo]

You'd be surprised at the huge number of people who don't see the obvious. Be glad you can say what you did.

[muf]

my strength: i have managed too mooch off my parents for more than 5 years.

[xSilverPhinxx]

I haven't even watched the clip yet and I know that is basically what I'm going to think in a few minutes :/

[XanderKarr]

No of course he's right and agree it's applicable to almost everything. My point is that Big Think has traditionally had some really outstanding videos (like ones with Neil D Tyson and Michio Kaku) and then they dumb these videos on us that are of shockingly low quality. Like seriously everything this guy says could be read on the inside of a fortune cookie. It's one of those "no shit sherlock" moment.

[HaploidCell]

Indeed.
To be fair, however, we gotta recognize that this is only the cheap cutouts from the main video, which they want us to pay for via Mentor.
There's probably a more in-depth version, containing less-obvious tipps and pointers.

[Khannea]

I am a privileged white anglosaxon male, I am quite healthy and I am completely unable to understand why some people would fail. Hence I say things that make people feel guilty for not "succeeding" in life, since I have absolutely no ability for empathy.

[Khannea]

My attempt at analysis might actually a little more subtle than your assessment suggests.