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Product Management :: Product Marketing


26 October, 2021

A Zoo of Management Acronyms


image from DeanOnDelivery.com

You may well have heard of HiPPO, the Highest Paid Person’s Opinion. If everybody in the room has an opinion, it’s the HiPPOs opinion that will win.

Just because it makes us chuckle, it isn't totally invalid. As Jim Barksdale (Netscape CEO, FedEx COO, AT&T CEO) said, "If we have data, let's look at data. If all we have opinions, let's go with mine." And certainly, I would happily surrender my opinion for his his, if we ever went head to head!

Product Focus list other animals in the management menagerie. UPDATE: see their infographic.

RHINOReally Here In Name Only
ZEBRAZero Evidence But Really Arrogant
WOLFWorking On the Latest Fire
SEAGULL Senior Executive that Always Glides in, Unloads, and Leaves Loudly
VIPER Vindictive Individual’s Plans Endangering Results
MuMMY
Muddying the waters and Micro Managing You
DODO Dangerously Out-dated Deciders Opinion
SCAREDY CAT Says Clear Argument, Roadmap, Execution, and Direction, Yet Changes All the Time
MOUSE Manager’s Opinion Usually Swayed Easily
OWL Old Wise Leader
PARROT Pretty Annoying and Ridiculously Repeating Others
DONKEY Data Only, No Knowledge, Expertise or whY


Got any suggestions yourself?
We’re currently working on some content that will take this a step further with advice on how to handle each persona. If you can come up with any others – please let us know. If we include yours in our content, then we’d be happy to say thanks with both an acknowledgement and a £100 Amazon voucher.

You might also be interested in this blog post: Product Manager is a janitor basically