Troy Yu Cheng
I’m the founder of ifcommune. I would construct the official web for this company (i.e. an open source project built in public) in next 6 months.
If you have any good ideas on this or want to contribute, feel free to contact me. My email is itischeng0727@gmail.com
My role models
Stacks
- Programming Languages: C++, Python, Java, C, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, R
- Platforms and Tools: macOS, Windows, Linux, AWS, Git, Vim, Gradle
- Frameworks and Libraries: React, Bootstrap
Who am I: My Top 5 Clifton Talents
1. Achiever
Achievers have a constant need for attainment. They have an internal fire burning inside them. It pushes them to do and achieve more. People with strong Achiever talents feel as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day, they must accomplish something meaningful to feel good about themselves.
Key Phrases That Stand Out:
- Every day starts at zero
- Strong powers of concentration
- Reduce plans, processes, or mechanisms into their fundamental parts
- Methodical approach
- To understand how and why certain things do or do not operate properly
- Stress causes you to concentrate your physical and mental energy on the right priority; periodic deadlines may motivate you to be more efficient and effective
- Sometimes work intensely at your job or your studies
- Easier to befriend individuals whose work ethic resembles your own & treasure compliments from people who share your work ethic
- Having your hours of hard work acknowledged
- Have more staying power
- Expend your physical or mental energy on selected issues, chores, projects, or activities
What I’d Like Others to See Most:
- Vitality and originality that drive me to constantly “reinvent the wheel”
- Thrive on starting from scratch, building systems, and imagining possibilities as a world-builder
- Nothing is fixed; everything can be suspended, tested, and reimagined
- Push everything down and rebuild it stronger when encountering a bug or flaw
- Encore! – To give my all, and then do it once more, better each time, until I die
2. Focus
People with strong Focus talents prioritize and then take action. They set goals that serve as their compass, helping them determine priorities and make alterations when needed to get back on course.
Key Phrases That Stand Out:
- Goals as compass; a particular yearning to control your life, and to leave your mark on the world
- Periodically identify what you must accomplish to reach objectives, sometimes refuse to be distracted by things you cannot do
- Prioritize and then take action; instinctively evaluate each action before taking it to decide whether it will help reach the goal
- Careful planning; the future might be full of possibilities for success; spend your time and energy contemplating what the coming months, years, or decades can offer you; make alterations when needed to get back on course
- You might not allow many distractions to interrupt your intense thinking when you are working on tasks that match your expertise or pique — that is, arouse or excite — your curiosity; When you pair your instigation with your concentration, you create a momentum that is always aimed at your goal; Channel energy toward what you might accomplish in the coming years
- The person who brings the conversation back to practical or factual matters
- You know you are somehow linked to every human being on the planet. This partially explains why you sense whatever you choose to do or not do affects them just as their choices eventually affect you; walking a tightrope between wanting to be totally independent and knowing you need others to survive
What I’d Like Others to See Most:
- The ability to combine independence with purposeful leadership.
- Aspire to be entirely self-reliant, yet also to serve as a leader or a vital contributor within a closely connected group of people who share my beliefs and goals
- The recognition of my colleagues who value my work and align with my vision
- The endeavors of my team will directly—or elegantly—reshape the world, reversing structural imbalances, promoting fairness, and empowering the vulnerable
3. Activator
People with strong Activator talents are impatient for action. They may concede that analysis has its uses or that debate and discussion can occasionally yield some valuable insights, but deep down they know that only action is real. Once a decision is made, they must act.
Key Phrases That Stand Out:
- Impatient for action; concede that analysis has its uses or that debate and discussion can occasionally yield some valuable insights, but deep down they know that only action is real; make a decision, take action, look at the result and learn
- Bottom line: Activators know they will be judged not by what they say or what they think, but by what they get done. This does not frighten them. It energizes them.
- Generate enthusiasm in people by convincing them of their abilities; encourage individuals to take action sooner rather than later; challenge individuals to see major or even minor assignments as opportunities to excel
- Traditionally determine for yourself and others what should be done
- Typically waste little time moving forward with projects or assignments
- The person who inspires and pushes others to take the next step by asking, “Now what?”
- Spur people into action; show them how a daunting task can become a bit more manageable when it is dealt with step by step
- Partner with individuals who are unable to think clearly when confronted with a seemingly overwhelming problem or an enormous opportunity
- Energize some people with your ideas about what can be changed or done better
- Describe how individuals or groups can benefit from your suggestions; optimistic approaches inspire others to design improvement plans
- Rally individuals to support and execute those plans (Some kind of Stalinism); With urgent initiative, you push others to get started so that a critical job will get finished as soon as possible.
- Always get a quick start on the process in educational activities and a quick learner in terms of content
What I’d Like Others to See Most:
- Someone who can push projects forward and tackle major challenges head-on
- Inspire others not only through ideas but also by standing shoulder to shoulder with them, forging bonds through shared struggle
- A paradox within me: I want to be the one who is most capable and indispensable, even if this feels competitive and harsh. Because of this, I sometimes prefer to work independently so as not to impose unnecessary pressure or harm on others.
- A capable and successful independent developer whose products are valued for their practicality, functionality, and impact
4. Learner
People with strong Learner talents constantly strive to learn and improve. The process of learning is just as important to them as the knowledge they gain. The steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence energizes Learners.
Key Phrases That Stand Out:
- Strive to learn and improve
- The process of learning is just as important to them as the knowledge they gain
- From ignorance to competence
- The thrill of learning new facts, beginning a new subject and mastering an important skill
- The outcome of learning is less significant than the “getting there”
- Aspire to hold the topmost position, particularly in a big organization
- Vie with certain people for important positions
- Associate with people who value yesteryear’s stories, events, feats of daring, or interesting personalities & experts who appreciate your thought-provoking questions
- Acquire historic information
- Stay up to date on certain news topics & satisfy your hunger for current information by reading specific newspapers, magazines, correspondence or websites
- Started asking people questions as a child and continue to do so today
- Genuinely interested in what they have to say
- Inquiries turn tense frowns into relaxed smiles
- The warmth of your presence can transform a timid person into a talkative one
- Few things delight you as much as hearing a stranger say, “I really like you — and I’ve just met you”
- When you’re exposed to something new, you really want to understand it
- Your deepest, longest friendships don’t stagnate because you strive to discover something new about those who are familiar
What I’d Like Others to See Most:
- Genuinely curious and eager to gather information from the vast world around me.
- Belief that my personal perspective is limited, and that there are always people who exist or live in ways I could never have imagined
- Respect the unknown and feel an urgent desire to learn about, understand, and even experience those different ways of being
- Even with my closest friends, I sense that they each have a hidden side — a “dark side of the moon” — that I do not yet know
- Choose not to cross boundaries by offering unsolicited advice and honor the mystery and individuality of others
5. Relator
Relator talents forms close relationships with people. People with strong Relator talents are drawn to others they already know. They do not necessarily shy away from meeting new people — in fact, they may have other themes that cause them to enjoy the thrill of turning strangers into friends — but they do derive a great deal of pleasure and strength from being around their close friends. A person with strong Relator talents forms close relationships with people.
Key Phrases That Stand Out:
- Drawn to others they already know; derive a great deal of pleasure and strength from being around their close friends
- Enjoy the thrill of turning strangers into friends
- Measuring up to your potential when doing your best work or earning the highest grades you possibly can
- Periodically are sought out by people whom you have befriended
- Try to tailor your words of wisdom to fit their unique situations, needs, strengths, limitations, goals, or personalities
- Closest friends are treasures
- Build deep relationships that last - The friends you have had the longest are probably your best friends.
- Feel upbeat and cheerful when you keep busy
- Derive satisfaction from producing certain kinds of tangible outcomes
- No better feeling than working hard with a few good friends to get a big job completed
What I’d Like Others to See Most:
- Ability to unite people around a shared vision and work together to make an impact
- Genuinely desire to build deep and lasting relationships
- Value loyalty and authenticity. At times, this desire can turn into over-attachment or fear of losing my closest friends, which I am consciously working on
- In areas like career and entrepreneurship I sometimes struggle with a trust issue
- Tend to prefer starting ventures with people I already know well, but also fear conflicts might damage those precious relationships
- This tension sometimes drives me into a “lone wolf” mode, but I continue to seek out like-minded individuals
Additional Questions
1. How does this information help you better understand your unique talents?
- Not only the separate descriptions for my top 5 talents but also the explanations for paired combinations help me understand more.
- The countless possible combinations make this test very different from persona tests like MBTI.
- I’ve spent years studying myself, while the narratives of this report really see right through me.
- Many vague, underlying mental logics of my thoughts and behaviors have been explained.
- I’m glad I can now look back at my personal history through a systematic perspective.
- Summary: the ultimate goal/purpose/meaning of my life is to learn, to matter, to unite people, and to achieve something that can be a legacy—a “treasure map” to the world in the future.
2. How can you use this understanding to add value to your role?
- Rethink and re-prioritize the goals of the website I’m building.
- View the project from a user’s perspective: why should they choose this platform over others?
- Log achievements and processes with something tangible, like a daily mindmap, to build momentum.
- Reach out more actively to co-workers and avoid “lone-wolf” mode.
- Remind myself to “Encore” when I fear I might hurt someone emotionally.
- Keep my work accessible and understandable; avoid relying on AI or tools I don’t fully understand.
3. How can you apply this knowledge to add value to your team, workgroup, department, or division?
- Navigate meetings and set agendas.
- Use warmth to turn timid people into talkative ones.
- Be conscious of impatience and practice proper etiquette.
- Genuinely care about co-workers, reaching out beyond just work contexts.
4. How will this understanding help you add value to your organization?
- External perspective: A trustworthy leader who can keep the startup running well, creating brand value that attracts investment and partners.
- Internal perspective: Unite workers so they willingly give their best to shared goals, reducing painful grinding and increasing motivation.
Digital Profile Samples
Software Development Engineer II at Expedia Group. Master of Science in Computer Science. Passionate learner.
Skills:
- Programming Languages: C++, Python, Java, C, HTML, CSS, JavaScript
- Platforms and Tools: macOS, Windows, Linux, AWS, Git, Vim, Gradle
- Frameworks and Libraries: React, Bootstrap