Special from HR Tech Las Vegas
Yesterday’s Advisor featured consultant Andrew McAfee’s thoughts on the rapidly developing world of technology. Today, his take on the role of geeks and HIPPOs.
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McAfee says we need to be more receptive to geeks—those who are fascinated and driven by data. McAfee says the mortal enemy of the geek is the HIPPO—that is, the Highest-Paid Person’s Opinion. They are fond of “gut” experience. They like data, but only as an input.
And the deliverers of the HIPPOs are not necessarily company presidents. One sample, he says, is Robert Parker, the world’s most influential wine critic. He assigns the 91s and the 92s. Why? “Because this one is better.” The HIPPO’s trick, McAfee says, is to attach numbers without rigor.
One of the tough taste tests in wine is the judging of the new Bordeaux wines, since they are judged shortly after production but take 15 years to mature. A Princeton professor, Orley Aschenfelter, decided to take a more rigorous approach. Since the ingredients and the procedure are fixed, he reasoned, he would gather data on weather and prices.
Although the idea was considered “ludicrous and absurd” by wine critics, Aschenfelter’s results were amazingly accurate.
In fact, says McAfee, the results of 136 published studies of head-to-head comparisons of geek vs. HIPPO are as follows:
- The experts were better 6 percent of the time.
- The algorithm results were better 46 percent of the time.
- It was a toss-up 48 percent of the time.
“The business world needs to get geekier,” says McAfee.
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Geeks, Machines, and Outsiders
To sum up, McAfee says that most companies need to pay more attention to the geeks, the machines, and the outsiders. His illustrations of technological advancements make this abundantly clear.
While you’re thinking about Geeks vs. HIPPOS, don’t forget about your HR basics, like Wage & Hour compliance. Even the most savvy practitioners get tripped up, and FLSA’s complex requirements can easily land you and your company on the wrong side of a lawsuit or a Department of Labor (DOL) investigation.
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