Richard Branson appeared as a surprise during the talk that Simon Sinek gave to more than 800 startup founders at the Virgin StartUp Digital and was surprised by the definitions of optimism and positivity
Branson says: Before I made my appearance, I was “backstage” listening to Holly welcome the audience and speak to Virgin StartUp CEO Andy Fishburn about how we need to put purpose at the center of everything we do in the events. business.
Then it was Simon’s turn to talk about the future of business with another entrepreneur, Ben Keene. I have had the pleasure of chatting with Simon on multiple occasions and every time I hear him speak I am blown away by how inspiring and uplifting he is.
An entrepreneur named Kyle Frank asked him a question about why young founders like him should feel positive about the future right now and his answer really resonated with me.
He said it’s all about your mindset, and there’s a difference between optimism and positivity: “Positivity is blind. Optimism is the unwavering belief that the future is bright, but it is not a denial of the current state.” I couldn’t agree more.
Optimism is one of the most important traits in business, especially right now. As Simon explained, if you can hold on to your vision in a moment of crisis, you are still feeling your way in the dark, but at least you have direction and you are moving forward.
I love hearing stories of how people have started their businesses and it’s brilliant to see people rising to the challenge of a pandemic and finding so many opportunities in it. I’m so proud to see the Virgin StartUp team supporting so many creative businesses that have been founded to try and solve people’s problems.
I joined the MeetUp at the end to surprise Simon and the audience by asking the final question. I asked Simon, “If you were starting a business right now, what problem would you set out to solve and why?”
Your response could not have been more timely or more important. He said he would like to resolve how we relate to each other. “We live in a time where we are more judgmental, we are bad listeners, things are black and white, when in reality they are mostly gray, and if I am right, you must be wrong.”
He said we lack many human skills such as empathy and the ability to have difficult conversations. It’s time for us all to be a little more human and understanding.
Once again, I couldn’t agree more. We all have to sit down with the people we disagree with—our partners, our children, business relationships, and friends—and try to work out where we agree and find common ground. This is how we overcome crises and come out on the other side. Together.
Thank you Simon for a brilliant and inspiring night and to the Virgin StartUp team for all the work they are doing to support startup founders during the pandemic.
Richard Branson
