The skills every adult human should have (with Raffi Grinberg)

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Mar 19, 2025

Raffi Grinberg, a business leader and educator, explores essential life skills for adulthood. He discusses the importance of mastering constructive disagreement, promoting empathy during conflicts. Relationships are redefined, emphasizing the need for commitment and growth over perfection. Grinberg also highlights critical financial skills, such as understanding taxes and investment strategies, advocating for financial literacy. Furthermore, he encourages embracing rejection as a path to personal growth and finding meaning in life through intentionality.

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ADVICE

Constructive Disagreement

Approach disagreements with curiosity, not an agenda to win.
Focus on learning the other person's perspective.

INSIGHT

Worthwhile Disagreements

Not all disagreements are worth your time; some people are unwilling to engage constructively.
However, be cautious about dismissing differing viewpoints too quickly, as this limits learning.

ADVICE

Tips for Constructive Disagreements

Try to learn from the other person in a conversation.
Track the emotional responses (the "elephant") and address them.

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Read the full transcript here.

What life skills do most people fail to learn before adulthood? Why does this failure occur? What should constructive disagreement look like? When might it be impossible to overcome a disagreement? How can you appease your (or someone else's) "elephant"? What do many people get wrong about dating? How much exploration is necessary to figure out what kind of person is compatible with you romantically? Which basic financial skills do many adults lack? What are the best ways to invest? What is your personal "superpower"? Should schools strive to make kids well-rounded (as opposed to highly specialized)? How can you find job opportunities more effectively? How can you figure out what to do with your life? What stages of development do adults go through? What does healthy negotation look like? How much time should you spend consuming information versus processing it? How can you benefit from rejection? Whom should you be trying to impress?

Raffi Grinberg is a business leader, author, and educator based in Washington, D.C. He is the Executive Director of Dialog and cofounder of The Constructive Dialogue Institute (with Jonathan Haidt), both multimillion-dollar education organizations that bring people together for conversations. He graduated with honors from Princeton University and previously worked in management consulting at Bain & Company. He is the author of a mathematics textbook published by Princeton University Press. He also created and taught the popular Adulting 101 course at Boston College. Learn more about him at his website, raffigrinberg.com.

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Spencer Greenberg — Host / Director
Josh Castle — Producer
Ryan Kessler — Audio Engineer
Uri Bram — Factotum
WeAmplify — Transcriptionists

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