Entrepreneur's Optimism Does Not Go Home With Them

Nicole writes in her blog about the need for entrepreneurs to treat their spouse as the most important investor in their venture.

Yet the tendency is to come home and unload on your spouse. “We can’t
make payroll this week”, “We lost the biggest deal, I’m not sure we’re
going to make it now”, “That stupid employee….” the list goes on and
on. What that does essentially paint a very poor picture for your
biggest investor, which will in turn cause significant doubt on his/her
part that you can succeed

It is not surprising in some way. As several studies have shown, entrepreneurs exude unbridled optimism about their prospects and pitch the positive options to their employees, vendors, customers and investors and most importantly to themselves. A study by Wharton professor showed,

"It's been shown in many studies that people are overly optimistic.
Individuals form an inside view forecast by focusing on the specifics
of the case, the details of the plan that exists and obstacles to its
completion, and by constructing scenarios of future progress."

Unfortunately it is hard to keep up when they go home to their most trusted partner.

One thing I recommend is to have an objective advisory group that is not easily awed by your bubbly optimism or rosy projections and hence will protect you from going down the wrong path in the first place.