MRF: accepted on 1/09/2018

This one is a grueling process: it takes me four rounds of fight to get it through. I have written more for response letters than the paper itself. The three referees and the AE were determined to kill the paper. In all three rounds it was the DE alone who keeps the paper alive.

It makes you cynical: the quality of your work is only a necessary condition. To publish, you need a bit of luck.

"

Dear authors (blinded for anonymity):

I am pleased to accept your paper for publication in MS. Congratulations!

The AE and both reviewers recommend acceptance. I also read the current version and I am happy with the contribution and the 15 page limit.

"

TYM: accepted on June 9.

This paper has the longest genesis: it takes ten years to publish. Sadly, the intellectual content has barely changed; what really changed is the advent of sharing economy. Because of that, the idea of decentralized control without equilibrium becomes accepted.

Eventually, it is the writing that makes difference.

"

Decision: Accept

Dear Authors (blinded for confidentiality):

Thank you for submitting a careful revision of the above manuscript. I have now received reports from the remaining reviewer and the Associate Editor (AE), with the latter being communicated via email. Both recommend acceptance as is. I fully agree with the recommendation, and I am delighted to accept your manuscript for publication"

TQ: major revision

From the reviewer:
" I enjoyed reading this paper, and find its topic interesting. I also appreciate the approach taken by the authors, which combines an empirical study, a modelling effort and corresponding analysis, and finally managerial recommendations which are of real practical interest. I do have a few comments on the interpretation of the results in the empirical section of the paper, some assumptions in the modelling framework, and the results of the numerical section. However, if these comments could be addressed, then I believe that this paper would make a nice, comprehensive, contribution to the literature."

WORK PLAN

I HAVE TWO FOCUSES. THE FIRST IS TO SHARPEN MY ANALYTICAL ABILITY, ESPECIALLY IN MATH, ECONOMICS REASONING, AND WRITING. FOR THIS SUMMER, I NEED TO FINISH THE BOOK INFINITE DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS (240HRS, 60 DAYS), THEN MOVE TO THE FOLLOWINGS:
PROBABILITY THEORY: A COMPREHENSIVE COURSE, BY KLENKE
ECONOMIC DYNAMICS IN DISCRETE TIME, BY JIANJUN MIAO

THE SECOND IS TO WORK ON THE DYNAMIC MODELS. I HAVE ONE REVISION. IT WILL TAKE TWO WEEKS. THEN I SHOULD MOVE ON TO THE NEW PROJECT ON SALESFORCE. FOR THIS ONE, I WILL USE THE CONTINUOUS METHOD. AFTER FINISHING THESE TWO PROJECTS, I SHOULD BE QUITE COMFORTABLE WITH DESCRIBING DYNAMIC INTEGRATIONS.

NOW I ALSO HAVE THREE TRIVIAL PAPERS TO CLOSE UP. THE FIRST IS THE TRANSPORTATION ONE. I WILL DO A QUICK REVISION AND SEND OUT. IF IT DOES NOT MAKE IT, SO BE IT. I WILL NOT WASTE MORE TIME. THE SECOND IS AO: AGAIN, THIS IS A CUTE BUT TRIVIAL PROJECT. I SPENT ONE MONTH ON IT. BUT I DON’T SEE IT AS SIGNIFICANT. SO CLOSE IT IN A WEEK AND MOVE ON. THE THIRD ONE IS WITH MH AND JS. THIS IS A MEDIOCRE ONE. THE ONLY REASON I AM DOING IT IS BECAUSE MH NEEDS THE PAPER. AND I FEEL OBLIGATED TO RETURN HIS KINDNESS IN SUPPORT MY CASE. NOW JS HAS PROVED THE RESULTS; MH SHOULD WRITE IT UP. EMAIL HIM THE SOFTWARE AND SCHEDULE THE MEETING.

AGAIN, FOCUS ON YOUR TRUE ASPIRATION. THE REST IS SECONDARY.

WRITING 164: COMMITMENT, GAMES WE PLAY, 7

Yesterday we got R&R on BAR paper, a good news. But BE is unlikely to work on it. To motivate him,  I must draw the line, committing not to work it. Otherwise, BE will never work on it. Hopefully, the fear of letting me down can motivate him. If not, I will cut BAR as a sunk cost.

Either way,  I won’t waste time on BAR any more.

——————————————

Dear B,

This email is between you and me.

My gut feeling is that we hit the same guy as AE. The reports are written in the same style.

I believe DE liked the idea. Also, he has good impression of us, from our efforts in the last two rounds of the Markov chain paper.  But he cannot go against all the naysayers. So we must do more to prove our worth.

At this point, you and me have two papers at MS; they are promising but time consuming. The choice is clear: if you want it, you must put in effort, do what it takes, and go beyond what’s required.

I have time for only one such commitment. I will focus on the revision of the last paper (Markov chain). I will NOT spend time on this one: I believe in you and PA.

You have my word—I will deliver my revision in two months. And I expect the same commitment from your side.

Best,

ACTION415

WRITING 162: WORK PLAN FOR MARCH, MONTH 5, 262

MONTH 5, 262:

MORTALITY IS ENLIGHTENING. IT IS NOT DPRESSING, BUT THRILLING.

“IT INFUSES COURAGE INTO YOUR BONES.”

———————————–

HERE ARE A LIST OF THINGS YOU MUST ACT, IN YOUR OWN INTEREST.

FOR SCHOOL,

1) FOLLOW UP THE WORKLOAD POLICY ON MONDAY; IF NO, FILE THE CHARGE.

2) LIMIT YOUR AVAILABILITY FOR TWO DAYS PER WEEK. FOR THIS QUARTER, MONDAY AND FRIDAY. YOU ARE OFF FOR THE REST.

———————————–
FOR WORK,

YOU MUST LIVE UP TO YOUR TRUE POTENTIAL. TO DO SO, YOU MUST SET UP SHARP EDGED BOUNDARY. RESET OTHERS’ EXPECTATIONS. YOU NEED TIME FOR YOURSELF.

GET ALL THE TRIVIAL STUFF DONE. INVEST A WEEK FOR EACH. NO MORE. IF YOU CANNOT FINISH IT, CUT IT AND MOVE ON. AS THEY ARE SUNK COSTS, YOU CANNOT AFFORD WASTE MORE TIME ON THEM IN THE FUTURE.

1) TQ2: GET IT DONE IN A WEEK. SINCE YOU PROMISED KK, THIS ONE MUST COME OUT. DO WHAT YOU CAN. WRITE, WRITE, AND WRITE. DELIVER NEXT THURSDAY. NO MORE. 1 WEEK.

2) TYM2: PUSH BACK MG. BUT YOU OWES JS. SO SPEND A WEEK TO WRITE IT UP. 1 WEEK.

3) AO: LIMIT THE MEETING TIME TO 30MIN; WRAP UP AT 25MIN; ASK WHAT IS THE NEXT ACTION; ASK AO TO FOLLOW MY IDEA; GET IT MOVE; DON’T WASTE TIME ON THE TRIVIAL STUFF. ALSO, ASK HIM ABOUT IAD2—IN OR OUT. AGAIN, DON’T WASTE MY TIME. I HAD ENOUGH.

4) PLD: PUSH PL. EITHER SUBMIT OR ABANDON IT. DON’T WASTE MY TIME.

5) MHS: ASK M.E. TO WORK WITH J.S. IF M.E. WANTS IT, THEN DO THE WORK. I WILL NOT WASTE MORE TIME.

6) BAR: ASK B.M. TO LEAD THE REVISION. YOU HAD DONE YOUR SHARE.

NOW EVERYTHING IS CLEAR. HERE IS MY WORK SCHEDULE FOR MARCH:
1) TQ2, 1 WEEK;
2) TYM2, 1 WEEK;
3) MRF: REVISION, FOR THE REST OF MARCH;
MAYBE: BAR, BUT ASK B.M. FIRST.

[WALL OF NINE DRAGONS, BEIJING,  CHINA, SUMMER, 2013]