In this episode of Evan Carmichael’s “Shot of Espresso,” chess champion Garry Kasparov and host Evan Carmichael discuss the critical importance of recognizing one’s own strengths and weaknesses. Kasparov explains that thorough self‑assessment is essential for preparation in chess and in life, as it informs strategy, prevents costly missteps, and requires constant reevaluation because opponents study your successes. Carmichael expands the idea to business, describing how entrepreneurs often waste the majority of their time on tasks outside their core competencies. He shares practical tactics—delegating, automating, and eliminating low‑value work—to free up time for high‑level, “CEO‑big‑picture” activities. The conversation culminates in a call‑to‑action, asking viewers to identify one personal weakness they can drop immediately and join the discussion in the comments. The segment ends with the show’s signature “Shot of Espresso” sign‑off and light‑hearted production banter.
Good morning, Believe Nation! Today's message is: Know your strengths and weaknesses.
Over to you, Garry Kasparov. It's very important, and I also come back to chess, to learn how to recognize your own strengths and weaknesses. This is in fact the vital part of preparation for a big match and for anything in life. We always try to study our opponents, we always try to study the battlefield, we always try to study all the circumstances surrounding our venture or endeavor, but very often we forget to study ourselves. And this is very important because any choice of a ground for battle or, you know, type of strategy we want to employ depends on our recognition of our strengths and weaknesses. And this is a process of constant reevaluation because life is changing very fast and our opponents looking at our success, studying it and trying to be smart and outsmart us eventually. And we can look at the history and just to find a number of situations where the— The inability to recognize strengths and weaknesses led to an eventual disaster.
So what do you think?
I think when you know your strengths and weaknesses, you spend time doing what you should be doing and not wasting time doing things that you shouldn't be doing.
I think there's so much that you have to get done in the company that you end up spending 90% of your time doing stuff that really shouldn't be done by you and only 10% of your time doing like the CEO big picture stuff. I think as soon as you can, look at how can I maybe eliminate some of the tasks that I'm doing that aren't relevant, that aren't going to help me. I think we do things that we shouldn't even be doing at all. And then how can you automate things and how can you delegate? The first person I hired was for 1 hour a day, so that 1 hour saved me a little bit over an hour so I can focus on bigger picture things. And so if you are continually doing projects that you're not great at, then you're never going to accomplish anything great with your business. And so as soon as possible, Figuring out what you're really good at, focusing only on that, going all in on your strengths, and then surrounding yourself with people who can complement your weaknesses. So the question of the day today is: What is the one thing that you can identify as your weakness you need to drop right away? Ooh, I like that one. Leave it in the comments below. We're gonna both join in the discussion. Thank you so much for watching. Have an amazing day. Continue to believe, and we'll see you again tomorrow morning for another Shot of Espresso. That was okay. And we'll see you again tomorrow morning for another shot of espresso. For another shot of espresso. For another shot of espresso. Shot! The shot of the punch! Shot of espresso! Oh man. For another shot of espresso. I did it to my timing! Shot! Shot! Shot! It's a shot! It's not natural to say shot in French. It's not shot of. Shot! —of espresso. No, shot. Together. This is the hardest part. For another shot of espresso. Espresso, not espresso. I said espresso. No, you said espresso. Of espresso. What's the subject again? See, now you're gonna direct me, are you? Well, it's just a little better. I'm worried about the frame to frame. Not a problem. You've done it twice already. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Okay. Strengths and weaknesses. You got something? No. Oh, good. I wake up every morning. Espresso keep me going.
