Tag Archives: Management

The never-ending battle between big and small science in astronomy

When you hear the thundering herd behind you, it’s time to move on to a new field. That’s advice I often heard from my graduate advisers. While you might call this a “small science” mindset, they went on to found … Continue reading

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Don’t demotivate. Communicate!

Let your people know what’s going on as soon as possible and ask your people what you should know that you may not. Continue reading

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Flaunt your flaws: Don’t communicate the Toyota Way

In this information age, your customers will find out what you’re trying to hide sooner or later and you’ll be well ahead of the game if you are the one supplying that information and engaging your community in an appropriate solution from the start. Continue reading

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Competition vs. Cooperation – another angle on why astronomy needs sound management practices

Introducing competition to astronomy projects is not always an easy task. Here, I explore the reasons why competition is healthy and question some of the real issues behind this concern. Continue reading

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Some of my take-home thoughts from recent management books I’ve read….

I wanted to jot down some key points from some recent books I read, so decided here to give some brief summaries and key ideas from some recent readings in management. Continue reading

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Towards more realistic project costing…

I’ve been involved and associated with a number of astronomical projects now that have depended on some level of external funding. One almost universal feature of these projects has been a pitched price tag that is known to be too … Continue reading

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Gemini without the UK

The UK appears to be pulling out of Gemini at the end of 2012. I explore some steps I feel Gemini must take in order to survive the likely resulting loss of funds. Continue reading

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Climbing the Corporate Ladder

I consider and discuss the pitfalls of blindly climbing the career ladder and point out how astronomy particularly needs to pay attention to finding people with management talent and encouraging them to supplement their talents with skills and training. Continue reading

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