William - OK you have right to your own opinions. Most of my...

William - OK you have right to your own opinions. Most of my career was managing highly qualified people (I am now retired) - mostly PhD's and MSc's; it's very different than managing a factory or most businesses.

Issues are:

1. These people are not really motivated by money (they are in high demand and generally live comfortably) what they are motivated to do is "create things" and "innovate". As a manager you have to command their respect (they are probably much brighter than you) and to do that you have to understand (at least in outline) what they are doing and suggest alternatives (or direction). A money man, bureaucracy or other person (not qualified) will not earn their respect and will likely de-motivate them. If you don't observe "discipline" and documentation you will end up with "rabbits" all over the place
2. These "bright" people are often quite "weird" - I once had a group from the "thytherias" society who believed in the power of pyramids and considered that dumping radioactive waste in a lake would cause the lake to mutate and walk away and to stop it you had to use nuclear weapons. Another very bright person I managed was scornful of the medical profession since there were dead bodies in cemeteries - you have handle them carefully.
3. Because as a manager you (hopefully) command their respect they will often go to extremes to "pull you out of a hole" - I have had seemingly hopeless deadlines but by motivating the group they will have a "brainwave" and work all hours to make the deadline - my job was saved on more than one occasion. You wont get this if you can't understand what they are doing and work alongside them

Please understand a bit more about MG's job and challenges - it's challenging and needs a "physicist" with management skills