In Praise of Paranoid Optimism

Finding the balance between cockeyed optimism and rank pessimism

In 2012, researchers at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business announced the results of personality tests administered to 3,000 CEOs and CFOs, and the results confirmed what I’ve seen over my career: “CEOs have a more optimistic outlook on their businesses and, more broadly, on life than the general population.” The CFOs in the survey agreed, saying that “their CEOs are more optimistic about almost everything in life.”

Most would consider this instinctively bullish take on the world as an asset to any CEO. After all, would anyone want to be led by a chief executive who wasn’t an optimist? CEOs are called to envision a bright future and make it reality—and plow through countless roadblocks in the process. It’s a job that requires a consistent orientation toward the positive.

However, too much positivity can inhibit the performance of CEOs and th…