Einstein’s Boss
10 Rules for Leading Genius
Robert Hromas & Christopher Hromas
“When employees are exceptional, everyday rules no longer apply. In 1933, Albert Einstein fled Nazi Germany for the leafy streets of Princeton, NJ. He would have been welcome anywhere, but Einstein joined the Institute for Advanced Study, bestowing instant credibility on the fledgling research center. Abraham Flexner, the institute’s founder, wasn’t a physicist or mathematician — but he was a gifted administrator. Under his leadership, IAS became a global powerhouse, home to 33 Nobel Laureates, 38 Field Medalists, and myriad winners of the Wolf and MacArthur prizes. The team of thinkers that Flexner assembled produced some of the greatest scientific advances of the 20th century. The man had a knack for leading genius.”
I picked up Einstein’s Boss because the premise sounded interesting—leadership lessons drawn from the story of Abraham Flexner who guided Albert Einstein. I thought it would be a good mix of stories and learning theory.
The idea itself is clever. Instead of offering generic advice, the author grounds the leadership rules in a historical example of how to manage genius without stifling it. The ten rules, with titles like “Get out of the way,” “Shut up and listen,” and “Turn over the rocks,” are simple, memorable, and do make you pause to reflect on how you approach talented people. I appreciated the fresh angle of using Einstein’s story to frame leadership lessons, which kept the book from feeling like a typical business read.
That said, I found the book fairly average overall. While the rules are interesting, the exploration feels surface-level and sometimes repetitive. It’s very vaguge and you’re left unsure of the point at the end, I had hoped for deeper analysis and perhaps more diverse examples. For readers who have worked through other leadership or management books, the ideas here won’t feel especially new or groundbreaking.
Overall, Einstein’s Boss was fine but not amazing. I would give it 2.5 to 3 out of 5 stars. For those who are newer to leadership literature or who are particularly drawn to the Einstein connection, it’s worth a skim. But if you are looking for something more in-depth or comprehensive, there are stronger titles available.
