Thicket data repository for the EEG
anil.recoil.org
1{
2 "id": "https://mort.io/blog/zen-and-the-art-of-research-management/",
3 "title": "Zen and the Art of Research Management",
4 "link": "https://mort.io/blog/zen-and-the-art-of-research-management/",
5 "updated": "2016-11-11T00:00:00",
6 "published": "2016-11-11T00:00:00",
7 "summary": "<p>I think this is a bit of a classic, the first written form of which I came\nacross in <a href=\"https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/misc/obituaries/needham/\">Prof. Roger Needham</a>’s <a href=\"https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/events/50+5/\">50+5 Festschrift</a> celebrating his\ntime at the <a href=\"https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/\">Cambridge University Computer Lab</a> and\n<a href=\"https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/lab/microsoft-research-cambridge/\">Microsoft Research Cambridge</a>. I don’t know who originated it, but the\ncopy there is certainly due to <a href=\"https://memex.naughtons.org/\">John Naughton</a> and <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Taylor_(computer_scientist)\">Bob Taylor</a>. I\nsuppose one might quibble point 12, in that I seem to recall Roger did a lot of\npacing about, but a good chair is certainly a worthwhile thing to provide.</p>\n<p>Anyway, I find myself wanting to point at it from time-to-time, so here it is!</p>\n<p>By <a href=\"https://memex.naughtons.org/\">John Naughton</a> (<em>Open University, Milton Keynes, England</em>), and <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Taylor_(computer_scientist)\">Robert\nW. Taylor</a> (<em>Woodside, California, USA</em>).</p>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<p>HIRE ONLY THE VERY BEST PEOPLE, EVEN IF THEY ARE CUSSED. Perhaps especially\nif they are cussed. Your guiding principle should be to employ people who\nare smarter than you. One superb researcher is worth dozens of merely good\nones.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>ONCE YOU’VE GOT THEM, TRUST THEM. Do not attempt to micro-manage talented\npeople. (Remember rule #1.) Set broad goals and leave them to it.\nConcentrate your own efforts on strategy and nurturing the environment.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>PROTECT YOUR RESEARCHERS FROM EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE, whether from company\npersonnel officers, senior executives or security personnel. Remember that\nyour job is to create a supportive and protective space within which they\ncan work.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>MUCH OF WHAT YOU DO WILL FALL INTO THE CATEGORY OF ABSORBING THE UNCERTAINTY\nOF YOUR RESEARCHERS.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE A CONDUCTOR, NOT A SOLOIST. (Rule #1 again.) The Lab\nis your performance.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>DO NOT PAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO ‘RELEVANCE,’ ‘DELIVERABLES’ and other\nconcepts beloved of Senior Management.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>REMEMBER THAT CREATIVE PEOPLE ARE LIKE HEARTS – they go where they are\nappreciated. They can be inspired or led, but not managed.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>KEEP THE ORGANISATION CHART SHALLOW. Never let the Lab grow beyond the point\nwhere you cannot fit everyone comfortably in the same room.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>MAKE YOUR RESEARCHERS DEBATE WITH ONE ANOTHER REGULARLY. Let them tear one\nanother’s ideas to pieces. Ensure frank communication among them. Observe\nthe strengths and weaknesses which emerge in the process.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>BE NICE TO GRADUATE STUDENTS. One day they may keep you, even if only as a\nmascot. (Moreover, they are a lot of fun!)</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>INSTALL A WORLD-CLASS COFFEE MACHINE and provide plenty of free soft drinks.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>BUY AERON CHAIRS. Remember that most computer science research is done\nsitting down.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>INSTITUTE A ‘TOY BUDGET’, enabling anyone in the Lab to buy anything costing\nless than a specified amount on their own authority. And provide a darkened\nrecovery room for accountants shocked by the discovery of this budget.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT GOES ON IN UNIVERSITIES. Every significant\nbreakthrough in computing in the last four decades has involved both the\nuniversity and corporate sectors at some point in its evolution.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>REMEMBER TO INITIATE AND SPONSOR CELEBRATIONS when merited.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>WHEN IN DOUBT, ASK YOURSELF: “WHAT WOULD ROGER NEEDHAM DO IN SIMILAR\nCIRCUMSTANCES?”</p>\n</li>\n</ol>",
8 "content": "<p>I think this is a bit of a classic, the first written form of which I came\nacross in <a href=\"https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/misc/obituaries/needham/\">Prof. Roger Needham</a>’s <a href=\"https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/events/50+5/\">50+5 Festschrift</a> celebrating his\ntime at the <a href=\"https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/\">Cambridge University Computer Lab</a> and\n<a href=\"https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/lab/microsoft-research-cambridge/\">Microsoft Research Cambridge</a>. I don’t know who originated it, but the\ncopy there is certainly due to <a href=\"https://memex.naughtons.org/\">John Naughton</a> and <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Taylor_(computer_scientist)\">Bob Taylor</a>. I\nsuppose one might quibble point 12, in that I seem to recall Roger did a lot of\npacing about, but a good chair is certainly a worthwhile thing to provide.</p>\n<p>Anyway, I find myself wanting to point at it from time-to-time, so here it is!</p>\n<p>By <a href=\"https://memex.naughtons.org/\">John Naughton</a> (<em>Open University, Milton Keynes, England</em>), and <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Taylor_(computer_scientist)\">Robert\nW. Taylor</a> (<em>Woodside, California, USA</em>).</p>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<p>HIRE ONLY THE VERY BEST PEOPLE, EVEN IF THEY ARE CUSSED. Perhaps especially\nif they are cussed. Your guiding principle should be to employ people who\nare smarter than you. One superb researcher is worth dozens of merely good\nones.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>ONCE YOU’VE GOT THEM, TRUST THEM. Do not attempt to micro-manage talented\npeople. (Remember rule #1.) Set broad goals and leave them to it.\nConcentrate your own efforts on strategy and nurturing the environment.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>PROTECT YOUR RESEARCHERS FROM EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE, whether from company\npersonnel officers, senior executives or security personnel. Remember that\nyour job is to create a supportive and protective space within which they\ncan work.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>MUCH OF WHAT YOU DO WILL FALL INTO THE CATEGORY OF ABSORBING THE UNCERTAINTY\nOF YOUR RESEARCHERS.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE A CONDUCTOR, NOT A SOLOIST. (Rule #1 again.) The Lab\nis your performance.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>DO NOT PAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO ‘RELEVANCE,’ ‘DELIVERABLES’ and other\nconcepts beloved of Senior Management.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>REMEMBER THAT CREATIVE PEOPLE ARE LIKE HEARTS – they go where they are\nappreciated. They can be inspired or led, but not managed.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>KEEP THE ORGANISATION CHART SHALLOW. Never let the Lab grow beyond the point\nwhere you cannot fit everyone comfortably in the same room.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>MAKE YOUR RESEARCHERS DEBATE WITH ONE ANOTHER REGULARLY. Let them tear one\nanother’s ideas to pieces. Ensure frank communication among them. Observe\nthe strengths and weaknesses which emerge in the process.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>BE NICE TO GRADUATE STUDENTS. One day they may keep you, even if only as a\nmascot. (Moreover, they are a lot of fun!)</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>INSTALL A WORLD-CLASS COFFEE MACHINE and provide plenty of free soft drinks.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>BUY AERON CHAIRS. Remember that most computer science research is done\nsitting down.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>INSTITUTE A ‘TOY BUDGET’, enabling anyone in the Lab to buy anything costing\nless than a specified amount on their own authority. And provide a darkened\nrecovery room for accountants shocked by the discovery of this budget.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT GOES ON IN UNIVERSITIES. Every significant\nbreakthrough in computing in the last four decades has involved both the\nuniversity and corporate sectors at some point in its evolution.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>REMEMBER TO INITIATE AND SPONSOR CELEBRATIONS when merited.</p>\n</li>\n<li>\n<p>WHEN IN DOUBT, ASK YOURSELF: “WHAT WOULD ROGER NEEDHAM DO IN SIMILAR\nCIRCUMSTANCES?”</p>\n</li>\n</ol>",
9 "content_type": "html",
10 "author": {
11 "name": "Unknown",
12 "email": null,
13 "uri": null
14 },
15 "categories": [],
16 "source": "https://mort.io/atom.xml"
17}