HiPPO’s and ZEBRA’s

What is the different between a HiPPO and ZEBRA?
hiPPO = Highest Paid Person’s Opinion
ZEBRA = Zero Evidence But Really Arrogant

In my Product Management experience, I have come across the HiPPO and ZEBRA effects i.e. the sudden derailing of well-laid plans by a management or executive-level stakeholder who insisted that their direction was the right one simply because it was their idea — regardless of whether or not they’d actually done any research or validation. I just didn’t have the terminology till now.

The difference between a HiPPO and a ZEBRA is that the HiPPO can still be swayed by facts — the HiPPO’s opinion rules in the absence of data. A ZEBRA, on the other hand, asserts their opinion as fact, and is not only uninterested in debate, but actively shuts it down. Anyone who’s heard an exec tell them, “The customer is just wrong,” or “The customer just doesn’t get it,” was dealing with a ZEBRA and not a HiPPO. HiPPOs can be reasoned with, engaged with in prioritization, and swayed with facts and data — ZEBRAs are stubborn and insist that you do what they say simply because they said it.

Now comes the strategies to deal with them. Stay tuned.