Loose end: All the world's a lab … into a Director

Research Institute; I know this happened some time ago and I should have written then, but I now have so little to do that there doesn't seem to be much point in doing anything, even if I can remember to do it. No doubt you have already discovered that being the head of a large organization isn't all that it is cracked up to be, and that it is quite difficult to realize your plans. The problem is that most scientists only think about the next week, and, while you may be lucky to have a few people who are worried about the next three months, you are probably the only one who is looking five years ahead. Actually, the very fact that someone like you has been appointed is a good sign that change is desired. Research institutes still have a feudal structure and all that the barons generally want is to be left alone. They prefer a king who is neutral; not totally passive, but active enough to go out and get things for them. They want no change and, in particular, they want nothing new and they will argue, like those in a lifeboat amidst drowning survivors, that no more should be taken on board, because the lifeboat will sink and everybody will die. As you will recognize, the only way out of this dilemma is to start another lifeboat. When you get tired of arguing with your senior colleagues you should have a talk with the person who looks after the refectory. You will find a refreshingly different view of the future, which is that you should get rid of all the scientists and their messy ways and turn the place into a first class restaurant and conference centre. It is inevitable that you will have to make some unpleasant decisions in your career. You can't be nice to everybody because then you would make no decisions at all and would get the reputation of a ditherer. If the unpleasant decisions are seen to be coming from you, you will be seen as a despot, and if you try to make them by consensus, nothing will ever happen. You could try taking the decisions yourself but having them announced by somebody else, like an administrator, who is going to be disliked anyway. My only real advice is that you should be consistent and just. You are …