Beware of the HiPPO
The Role of Courage and Vulnerability for Leaders
Hi there,
Our son Hidde loves everything to do with animals.
His bed is full of stuffed animals. His current favorites? A Dikkie Dik cat and a whale. He adores visits to the petting zoo. Books with animals as the main characters are his absolute favorite (again Dikkie Dik, but also Miffy).
A few weeks ago, we took him to a zoo. The crocodiles, manta rays, and lions—he loved it all.
We lingered a little longer at the hippos. “Hippos,” I said, as we watched the large gray giants.
This reminded me of another kind of hippo you should watch out for: the HiPPO from author and organizational psychology professor Adam Grant. His tip?
Beware of the HiPPO.
Adam Grant was one of the speakers at the recent Amsterdam Business Forum conference. This event was all about courage and innovation, qualities that are more important than ever. In this newsletter: the lessons I picked up there.
Enjoy reading,
Peter
P.S. Prefer watching? I made a video about it:
For English subtitles: select the icon of a sprocket (settings), and then subtitles. 🇺🇸
Leaders of the future
What’s coming at leaders and managers? What does this demand of you and your organization? What lessons can we learn from top entrepreneurs and management thinkers?
In turbulent times like these, daring and courageous decisions are more crucial than ever. At the Amsterdam Business Forum, I heard inspiring stories about leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Three lessons stood out:
Entrepreneurship is daring.
Leverage collective intelligence.
Courage requires vulnerability.
1. Entrepreneurship is daring
Michiel Muller, a successful serial entrepreneur, shared his insights. He’s co-founder of Tango (unmanned gas stations), Route Mobiel (roadside assistance), and Picnic (grocery delivery).
In his talk, he explained how they challenged competitors like Shell, Texaco, and Esso with Tango’s unmanned gas stations.
It seems obvious now, but back then, the idea of gas stations without shops or staff was met with skepticism. However:
No shop = less space needed. Tango needed to buy less land.
No shop = less investment. Building shops costs money.
No shop = faster service. No shop queues, so drivers spent less time at the pump.
Do shops make money? Muller pointed out that the margins on most shop sales, like cigarettes, are minimal.
Michiel’s key insight:
Starting something new—like a business—is often the hardest and most daring step.
Once you take that first step, opportunities arise to help you move forward.
And if something fails?
Keep moving, keep looking for opportunities, and learn from mistakes.
2. Beware of the HiPPO
Have you ever been in a brainstorming session where everyone shares ideas freely, and “no answers are wrong”?
Great for generating ideas, right? But beware of the HiPPO:
HiPPO = Highest Paid Person's Opinion.
When the boss is involved, everyone tends to gravitate toward their ideas—whether consciously or not.
Solution: Brainwriting.
Adam Grant’s method:
Everyone writes down their ideas first.
Discuss the ideas afterward.
To minimize HiPPO influence, anonymize ideas before discussing them. For instance, the facilitator can rewrite or print them out. This prevents people from recognizing handwriting or guessing whose idea it is.
But embracing all ideas requires courage and vulnerability. Are you willing to accept that your own ideas might not be chosen? Or that someone lower in the hierarchy might have a better idea?
3. Courage requires vulnerability
According to Brené Brown, vulnerability is an essential part of courage.
What is vulnerability? Brown defines it as:
the emotion we experience in situations of uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure.
In her talk, she shared examples from her work with U.S. Special Forces and professional sports teams. She asked these highly trained individuals for examples of courage without uncertainty, risk, or emotional exposure.
They couldn’t think of any. Their conclusion? There is no courage without vulnerability.
Tip: Recognize your armor.
What blocks courage? Brown found that the biggest barrier isn’t fear but defense mechanisms.
Common “armors”:
Perfectionism: Trying to control everything.
Impulsiveness: Making decisions too quickly.
Cynicism: Using sarcasm to avoid disappointment.
By recognizing your armor, you can better understand your fears, acknowledge vulnerability, and decide whether it’s time to lower your defenses. It’s tough but courageous.
Want to learn more about Brené Brown’s ideas? Check out her Netflix documentary, The Call to Courage (7.7 IMDb).
Deep Dive
Articles, books, podcasts, videos, documentaries, and more on this theme.
1. READ / In my August newsletter, I shared insights from Daring Greatly (Brené Brown) and Think Again (Adam Grant).
2. LEARN / The next Amsterdam Business Forum is on Friday, September 26, 2025, featuring Simon Sinek. I’ll be there—will you?
3. WATCH / Speaking of courage, the documentary Free Solo (8.1 IMDb) comes to mind. It follows climber Alex Honnold as he scales El Capitan in Yosemite without ropes.
Stunning, tense, and inspiring.
🙏 Thank you for reading
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