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September 20, 2019
Editorial

Why Asking for Advice Is More Effective Than Asking for Feedback

By: Jaewon Yoon, Hayley Blunden, Ariella S. Kristal and A.V. Whillans

Conventional wisdom says you should ask your colleagues for feedback. However, research suggests that feedback often has no (or even a negative) impact on our performance. This is because the feedback we receive is often too vague—it fails to highlight what we can... View Details

Keywords: Feedback; Advice; Advice Seeking; Feedback Culture; Advice Taking; Interpersonal Communication

Article

Power, Competitiveness, and Advice Taking: Why the Powerful Don't Listen

By: L. P. Tost, F. Gino and R. Larrick

Four experiments test the prediction that feelings of power lead individuals to discount advice received from both experts and novices. Experiment 1 documents a negative relationship between subjective feelings of power and use of advice. Experiments 2 and 3 further... View Details

Keywords: Advice Taking; Power; Expertise; Confidence; Competitive Mindset; Competition

21 Oct 2014
News

5 pointers for giving and taking advice

16 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

Advice on Advice

poorly, either by taking the conversation to unrelated tangents or by omitting key information that might cast the advice-seeker in a poor light Misjudging the quality of the advice they are given Once... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

Article

The Errors of Experts: When Expertise Hinders Effective Provision and Seeking of Advice and Feedback

By: Ting Zhang, Kelly Harrington and Elad Sherf

To be effective, experts need to simultaneously develop others (i.e. provide advice and feedback to novices) and advance their own learning (i.e. seek and incorporate advice and feedback from others). However, expertise, and the state of efficacy associated with it,... View Details

Keywords: Expertise; Self-efficacy; Feedback; Perspective Taking; Cognitive Entrenchment; Interpersonal Communication

21 Jul 2015
News

The Backstory of Advice

09 Aug 2016
News

The President Should Take Advice From A Council Of Historians

2018
Working Paper

Algorithm Appreciation: People Prefer Algorithmic to Human Judgment

By: Jennifer M. Logg, Julia A. Minson and Don A. Moore

Even though computational algorithms often outperform human judgment, received wisdom suggests that people may be skeptical of relying on them (Dawes, 1979). Counter to this notion, results from six experiments show that lay people adhere more to advice when they think... View Details

Keywords: Algorithms; Accuracy; Advice Taking; Forecasting; Theory Of Machine; Mathematical Methods; Decision Making; Forecasting and Prediction; Trust

SSRN

Article

Blinded by Anger or Feeling the Love: How Emotions Influence Advice Taking

By: F. Gino and M. E. Schweitzer

Research Summary

Overview

Dr. Logg studies how people can improve the accuracy of their judgments and decisions. Her main program of work examines when people are most likely to leverage the power of algorithms to improve their accuracy. Research on what she calls “theory of machine” is... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Judgment; Algorithms; Advice Taking

2024
Working Paper

Advice and the Bayesian Entrepreneur

By: Susan Cohen and Rembrand Koning

Bayesian entrepreneurship starts from the premise that entrepreneurs’ beliefs guide their theorizing, experimentation, and choices (Agrawal et al., n.d.). Since each entrepreneur has unique beliefs based on their own set of past experiences, cognitive ability, and... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Decision Choices and Conditions

19 Jan 2021
In Practice

Leadership Advice for Biden: Restore a Sense of Calm

challenge lies in attempting to heal a nation that is bitterly divided. We asked members of Harvard Business School's faculty two questions: First, how do you expect Biden’s presidency to impact businesses? And second, what leadership View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

13 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Ignore This Advice at Your Own Peril

Employees regularly turn to managers and other higher-level co-workers to seek advice about job-related issues and next steps for their careers. Yet people don’t always take the View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

25 Aug 2016
News

Timeless Advice for Making a Hard Choice

04 Mar 2022
Blog Post

Advice from My HBS Career Journey in Renewable Energy

classes they can take since there are so many options. A common question from MBAs is how to decide what type of company or role to pursue. You have extensive experience working in a variety of roles at different companies, from startups... View Details

13 Jan 2015
News

Advice and Credibility Go Hand-in-Hand for Managers

05 Dec 2016
Blog Post

5 Pieces of Advice for Applying to HBS

There’s no doubt that applying to business school can be a stressful undertaking. Researching MBA programs, taking the GMAT, writing essays, chasing after recommenders (often while also trying to balance a full time job) can be downright... View Details

10 May 2019
Blog Post

Advice for Mothers Pursuing an MBA

with two little kids. Take advantage of coffee chats and all the events on campus and ask everyone about work-life integration at the companies you are interested in. You are going to have options to choose from. Remember that the... View Details

March 27, 2018
Other Article

Why CEOs Are Taking a Stand

By: Aaron K. Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel

In this podcast, we discuss the emerging phenomenon of CEO activism. We explain how political polarization in the U.S. and employee expectations around company values are pushing corporate leaders to enter into controversial political and social debates. We also hear... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Social Issues; Values and Beliefs; Communication Strategy