HIPPO stands for “Highest Paid Person’s Opinion.” Input from this person can crush staff morale and creativity.
Hippos don’t like to do things that make them uncomfortable. Take, for example, a Web site designed to attract a demographic other than the hippo. Hippos will vote it down because it doesn’t appeal to them. But are they the ones buying the product? No. Their decisions are counterproductive to the company, the customer and the product, but are important because of their position on the payroll.
Hippos also can get in the way of policy, procedure and productivity. Just because they are the highest paid, they think “the buck stops here.”
Now, don’t get me wrong. Often, the hippo can be a calming voice of reason and has great insight into what should be done. But beware the hippo who says things such as:
“I just don’t like it.”
“It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
“It simply won’t work.”
“Who would want to do that?”
Rejoice in the hippo who says:
“Show me how this could work.”
“Really? I never thought of that. Let’s take a look.”
“If you can prove the value to me, you can do it.”
“Let’s find examples where this has worked for other companies.”
Source: Lisa Trosien, www.apartmentmarketingblog.com