Einstein's Boss: 10 Rules for Leading Genius

by Robert Hromas, Christopher Hromas (Contributor)

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.

Einstein’s Boss filters Flexner’s practices through the lens of modern business, where industries from computing to engineering to biotechnology compete for top talent and cutting-edge innovations. Original and insightful, the book explains how to spot the deep thinkers who will transform your business — and reveals 10 rules for guiding them to greatness, including:

● Get out of the way: Allow brilliant people ownership of their projects
● Shut up and listen: Consider their input openly before reaching conclusions
● Turn over the rocks: Be completely transparent — a genius will figure out what you’re hiding anyway
● Practice alchemy: Mix complementary minds together for maximum effect
● Let the problem seduce: Frame challenges in a way that captures the imagination and draws them toward the goal
● Quit chasing squirrels: Guide innovation towards the core mission

Leading people who are smarter than you is no easy task. But for managers who learn to channel brainpower into breakthroughs, the rewards are boundless.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

Published May 15, 2018

About the author

Robert Hromas, M.D., is a seasoned administrator, mentor, scientist, and clinician. He is Dean of the Lozano Long School of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Center in San Antonio. He leads a medical school of 1,300 faculty physicians and scientists, and 800 physicians in training, as well as personally supervising a laboratory that designs new cancer drugs.

Reviews

[Ogi Ogas · Rating 2 out of 5]

My ratings of books on Goodreads are solely a crude ranking of their utility to me, and not an evaluation of literary merit, entertainment value, social importance, humor, insightfulness, scientific accuracy, creative vigor, suspensefulness of plot, depth of characters, vitality of theme, excitement of climax, satisfaction of ending, or any other combination of dimensions of value which we are expected to boil down through some fabulous alchemy into a single digit.

[GleeGMJournal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about leadership which incorporates Einstein backstory. Coincidentally, I read this book during Oppenheimer screening. Some of the characters in the film were featured here. However, if you are not new to those leadership self-help books, and you aren't not narcissist, egoistic kind of leader, you won't get much in term of leadership theory.

[Barry Bridges · Rating 2 out of 5]

EDIT: After spending a few months in Dr. Hromas' orbit, watching him in action as a leader in a delicate and demanding transition, I must edit my review.

Dr. Hromas does literally work with geniuses and while he is as well, he is a humble and passionate leader. The stories told of the IAS and even Hromas' organization are terse and factual to illustrate a point. What I know of him is a more colorful telling of stories to motivate and encourage folks on mission. The work is a starting place for identifying core principles to operate from, and adding your own color as you apply those principles to develop your personal leadership style for flock of genius's that surround you.