3 Key Reasons to be Optimistic Like Steve Case

I interview a lot of entrepreneurs, and they almost always share a consistent characteristic: optimism. They have to be optimistic to have the patience, drive and fearlessness to start something from scratch, challenge the status quo and carve out space for a new business. I’m far too risk averse to be an entrepreneur myself, but I have great admiration for founders’ confident and hopeful nature. I often leave conferences of entrepreneurs pitching ideas, inspired to apply that same optimistic approach to my own professional challenges.

The value of this optimistic entrepreneurial streak is particularly evident in Steve Case, whom I had the pleasure of interviewing earlier this month in front of an audience of about 1,500 at SXSW V2V, a conference focused on entrepreneurs, which spun off from the annual SXSW Austin conference. Case is the founder of AOL, currently CEO and chairman of investment fund Revolution, as well as chairman of the Startup America Partnership and co-chair of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. All of his endeavors support entrepreneurs, with the underlying belief that they’re the most powerful force driving economic growth.

In business-speak, the term optimism often connotes a certain naivete -- but there’s something very useful about approaching any roadblock with the attitude that it *will* work out because you *will* make it happen. Of course, no amount of optimism can guarantee success, but here are three reasons to consider taking a more optimistic approach.

1) Optimism enables patience, which breeds persistence.

In light of Case’s support for immigration reform, I commented that he must be frustrated by the fact that immigration legislation is stuck in Congressional gridlock. Dismissing my assumption that the bill isn’t going anywhere, he said in fact he’s confident it’ll make progress this fall. Then he proceeded to urge the entrepreneurs in the audience to realize how important this bill is for *them* and to contact their representatives to push the bill through. If he weren’t optimistic it *could* happen, he’d have given up. The fact that he still believes it has a fighting chance means he’s pushing harder than ever.

2) No one wants to work with a negative leader: Optimism benefits team-building

Case quoted an African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Case is speaking on a number of levels -- from the importance of the nation to come together to overcome challenges like joblessness, to the importance of startups to invest in their teams. But no one wants to follow a leader if he or she doesn’t have full conviction in a plan.

3) Optimism helps turn challenges into opportunities

"Babe Ruth was not only the home-run king, but also the strikeout king," Case said, when asked by an entrepreneur in the audience about to handle the up-and-down sine curve of entrepreneurial life. The implication: Ruth wouldn’t have had the skill to become the home-run king if he hadn’t put himself out there for a whole lot of swinging. Case cited an example from his early days at AOL, when after the company fought and finally secured a deal with Apple, the deal disappeared. Losing what Case had counted on to be a game-changer forced him to be flexible and adapt. A few years later, the company’s user base skyrocketed.

The best entrepreneurs not only learn from their mistakes, but they make the most of whatever curveballs are thrown their way. Case encourages entrepreneurs not to be distracted by quick acquisitions of young companies like Instagram for billion-dollar price tags. They’re the exception, not the rule, he insists. Everyone should expect to have plenty of downs before things turn up: optimism helps those bumps in the road lead to better paths.

Photo: Jessica Cox, SXSW