Don't let your HIPPO hinder value creation!
The Highest Paid Person's Opinion isn't automatically correct.
Most companies have people with higher influence and/or power than most others. Even the flattest of organizations, with few or even no management layers, have people with more influence due to their job titles and salary.
Their opinion, the “Highest Paid Person’s Opinion” or HIPPO, is valuable. They will surely have great insights. But being the most senior, highest in rank, or highest-paid person doesn’t give you the power of prophecy.
In today’s fast-changing world, you don’t know what will happen. You may have great ideas, but they may not be valid when they meet reality. You better verify these ideas soon as possible to understand if they actually will bring you value.
A Highest Paid Person’s Opinion is no different. It is only an opinion, an idea, and a potential opportunity. Just like the ideas of others. You may want to decide to verify this idea before verifying other ideas. But the trick is to learn quickly whether you should continue to invest in the idea. To avoid wasting time, energy, and money.
There’s a way to deal with the HIPPO. Validate the idea quickly. Build, Measure, and Learn. Collaborate, Deliver, Reflect, and Improve. Use empiricism. And don’t invest months of precious time and energy and lots of money in an unverified HIPPO.
Being the highest-paid person doesn’t give you the power of prophecy.