Yea, I think you're right to question anything that start's with "don't outshine." If you're in a position where you need to mute your talent, get out of there if you can. Any master worth the title is thrilled to discover a rising star, and hopes the new guy will, in fact, outperform him. If you're deliberately trying to make the boss look bad, that's a very different thing. Your job as an underling is always to make the boss look good, make your boss's boss as successful as possible, and do as much as you can to make the company successful. You should shine as brightly as you reasonably can. I think your author is making some cynical assumptions about power. We have tons of real-life examples of the adage about power as a corrupting influence. If true, then people in power are automatically suspect. How should we manage that? Whose "rules" do you want to adopt?
