One of the most positive people I’ve ever known is my wife, lauren.
She thinks about the positive in everything, always mindful about the silver lining and brings a smile to those around her.
It’s a positive energy and force that is fun to be around.
Now, she certainly has her opinions about things and quite passionately so. But it’s a healthy strong opinion. Without being judgmental.
When we see people like lauren in startups, it’s a special thing. They can inspire others to do their best. They hire the best people. It creates positive morale even when things are tough.
One of the things people in startups and VC firms struggle with is ignoring the differences between good judgement vs being judgmental as we make countless decisions every day. And we see it sneak up on us all the time. We move from attacking the idea to the individual on a personal level. Sadly it’s easy to do and I’m guilty at times.
Disagreements are normal and natural. But the moment we move to thinking we’re better than others or we are morally superior, or when we attack others in thought or in action, well, things become toxic. To the people around you, the team, the company, relationships — and most importantly, to ourselves. We stop listening and we lose perspective.