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xxvii The advice and counsel I offer is contextual, arising in particular situations, with some sensitivity to your nature (although that is quite difficult to achieve for an unknown reader, and that advice is not too forgiving). In the academic life, there are a small number of questions that recur again and again, and so there are parts of the book that are most relevant–yet the main notions are present in every part. How do I get into the business? It may be a matter of attending graduate school, choosing your research project and doing it well, showing off your work to others, making sure you get done by actually writing it all up, and eventually obtaining your first job. Chapter 1. How do I manage traps and temptations? Some of these are matters of bureaucratic or departmental politics; some are just ways of losing your way and not Getting Done. You want to get done so that you can actually domorework,andalsoletgoofalineofworkthatnolongerprovidesyou with real challenges. How do you get back to work after you are stuck? Howdoyoustartonaproject,oratleastgetintoitsothateventuallyyou realize you have started and made some improvements? Chapters 1, 10. How do I write and publish for a scholarly audience? Your readers are sophisticated,andtheyneedtoknowthenatureofyourcontributionand that you are authoritative. You publish so that your work is seen more widelybyauthoritativeotherswhomyoumaynotknow,includingfuture scholars. Chapters 2, 6. How do I do my best work without being paralyzed by perfectionism? The notion of “good enough,” as used by D. W. Winnicott in his description of the “good enough mother,” is a counsel to be responsive to the A Way into This Guide xxviii a way into this guide current situation. The notion of “personal best” forces us to push ourselves without killing ourselves. Chapter 3. How do I get a job, and how do I get tenure? From your CV to your job talk to your meeting potential future colleagues, be a focused contributor to the academic and research enterprise. Learn how to say no, so that you do what you have to do. Never delude yourself about what you have done or what is required; your colleagues and deans usually mean what they say despite occasional exceptions. Chapters 4, 5, 7, 8. How do I make an enduring contribution to the research enterprise? How do you have impact rather than being lost in the noise? Get the supportyouneedtodoyourprojects.Besmartaboutpublicationvenues, making sure people know of your work, and making sure they can see your work as a whole. Chapters 2, 9, 10. HowdoImakeforastrongeruniversity?Mentoring,dementoring,and tormentoring. Select your colleagues, achieve tenure, earn awards, and encourage the next generation. Chapters 8, 11. ...

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