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Managers/sponsors have limited budgets, many mouths to feed, and political forces acting on them from many direc- tions. They live in a world that loves to assign blame for any kind of shortcoming. They do not want to look bad by fund- ing a weak project or a weak principal investigator, getting “crosswise” with their bosses’ priorities, or making a foolish move. Try to understand these pressures on your sponsor and do everything you can to earn the sponsor’s trust.
The funding amount you receive is usually much less than that which you proposed. In this case, it is critically impor- tant to negotiate a new, more attainable set of project de- liverables. Otherwise, you will look bad. Remember faster, better, cheaper.
Consider the following characteristics of a proposal and the associated probabilities of receiving funding. (1) Your ideas are exceptionally innovative. This is necessary but usu- ally not sufficient to get funding. (2) The first characteristic is true and your technical ideas are very important to the mission of the organization. This is necessary but often not sufficient to get funding. (3) Both the first and second char- acteristics are true, and the proposal is so compelling that management will look bad if they do not support it. This is often sufficient to get management support, but there are no guarantees.
General Project and Career Issues
I have reviewed many journal papers, participated in many program reviews, and attended many sales pitches that con- veniently avoided the downsides and trade-offs involved with technical ideas/products. This is wasteful and wrong. Everybody knows there is no free lunch, and trade-offs are ubiquitous. Your credibility will only grow if you acknowl- edge this and level with everyone. Tell the entire story.
A good way to mitigate career stress is to spend a serious amount of effort making sure your life is balanced and you always have the option to get another job. This includes pro- tecting your health and the health of your family, working with integrity, staying on the cutting edge of technology, not accepting dead-end jobs, publishing in the literature, go- ing to conferences, and nurturing a network of colleagues around the world who know and trust you.
Conclusions
Don’t let fear drive your agenda. Rather, focus on your prin- ciples and your health. Have the courage to live by your con- victions. If you make a mistake, apologize sincerely and do your best to avoid making the same mistake again. Always level with your sponsors, management, and journal paper readers about the limitations and trade-offs associated with your research. Tell them even if they don’t want to hear it. Tell them even if it might cost you funding. It will cement your credibility because the full truth is so rare. You’ll be able to sleep at night. This is a matter of integrity and ethics. Once you’ve lost your integrity, you’ve lost everything. In the short run, you might take a beating, but in the long run, it will be good for your career and life because the laws of na- ture eventually punish hubris.
If at all possible, avoid data chasing. Sometimes manage- ment may demand compliance with unreasonable technical ideas or promises. Tell them that you are being asked to do data chasing with little or no chance of a good result. I wish you the best of fortune in your future endeavors. If you like, please send me your horror stories!
Clark's Principle of Intellectual Honesty
Tell the full truth about your ideas - the advantages, disadvantages, and trade-offs because a half-truth masquerading as the whole truth is an untruth (Clark, 2016).
Clark’s Law of Integrity
Once you’ve lost your integrity, you’ve lost everything (Clark, 2014).
Clark’s Law of Mental Health
Mental health is having options (Clark, 2016).
Clark’s Law of Project Funding
Project funding has little or nothing to do with how much is actually required to do the work (Clark, 2014, 2016).
Clark’s Proposal Strategy
Make your proposal so compelling that management will “look bad” if they do not support it (Clark, 2016).
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