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• Editorial | Harvard Business Review (website) | September 20, 2019

  Why Asking for Advice Is More Effective Than Asking for Feedback

  Jaewon Yoon, Hayley Blunden, Ariella 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 improve on or how to improve. New research suggests a better approach. Across four experiments—including a field experiment conducted in an executive education classroom—researchers found that people received more effective input when they asked for advice rather than feedback.

  Keywords: feedback; advice; advice seeking; feedback culture; advice taking; Interpersonal Communication;

  Citation:

  Yoon, Jaewon, Hayley Blunden, Ariella Kristal, and A.V. Whillans. "Why Asking for Advice Is More Effective Than Asking for Feedback." Harvard Business Review (website) (September 20, 2019).  View Details

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• Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | September 2019

  Fishbowl: Scaling Up

  Leslie K. John

  Fishbowl is a social media app that allows professionals to connect with other relevant professionals both within their company and across industry. Unlike many other social media apps, on which users typically present idealized portraits of themselves, on Fishbowl, people get real. Fishbowl prides itself in being a "safe space" that allows users to feel comfortable interacting with candor - whether to ask difficult questions in order to give and get advice, or just to vent or crack jokes. A key part of the user experience is the ability to post anonymously. But to ensure relevance of posts, when a user signs up, Fishbowl verifies their identity by requiring them to provide their full name, employer email address, LinkedIn account and contact list. Fishbowl has several hundred thousand users and is now looking for ways to monetize the platform. As such, founders Loren Appin and Matt Sunbulli face a mission-critical decision: should they integrate employers into the platform? Although formally integrating employers would provide a much-needed revenue stream, at the same time Appin and Sunbulli worry that doing so could destroy the user experience. Is formalizing employer relationships antithetical to the safe space they have created?

  Keywords: communication technologies; interpersonal communication; talent and talent management; customer value; value chain; entrepreneurship; business model; advertising; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Two-Sided Platforms; Consumer Behavior; Network Effects; Emotions; Motivation and Incentives; Trust; Software; Technology Adoption; Technology Platform; Communications Industry; Employment Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  John, Leslie K. "Fishbowl: Scaling Up." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 920-022, September 2019.  View Details

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• Article | Harvard Business Review (website)

  Research: Changing Your Mind Makes You Seem Intelligent

  Martha Jeong, Leslie K. John, Francesca Gino and Laura Huang

  Citation:

  Jeong, Martha, Leslie K. John, Francesca Gino, and Laura Huang. "Research: Changing Your Mind Makes You Seem Intelligent." Harvard Business Review (website) (September 11, 2019).  View Details

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