I got the opposite gist than you did.

That he focused on things you consider "platitudes" may have more to do with the significance of these platitudes (primarily those having to do with "soft skills" ) than any more technical advise he may have given.

One day you'll get to a point where you realize these are more helpful than you think.

He was a working Engineer decades ago but his current job is Evangelist.

in terms of technical beef: Vint's gone Vegan since Google