How Jensen Huang Runs Nvidia

The way that Jensen Huang runs Nvidia is wild: 40 direct reports, no 1:1s - Believes that the flattest org is the most empowering one, and that starts with the top layer - Does not conduct 1:1s - everything happens in a group setting - Does not give career advice - "None of my management team is coming to me for career advice - they already made it, they're doing great" No status reports, instead he "stochastically samples the system" - Doesn't use status updates because he believes they are too refined by the time they get to him. They are not ground truth anymore. - Instead, anyone in the company can email him their "top five things" with whatever is top of mind, and he will read it - Estimates he reads 100 of these every morning Everyone has all the context, all the time - No meetings with just VPs or just Directors - anyone can join and contribute - "If you have a strategic direction, why tell just one person?" - "If there's something I don't like, I just say it publicly" - "I do a lot of reasoning out loud" No formal planning cycles - No 5 year plan, no 1 year plan - Always re-evaluating based on changing business and market conditions (helpful when AI is developing at the pace that it is) This org is optimized for (1) attracting amazing people, (2) keeping the team as small as it can be, and (3) allowing information to travel as quickly as possible

A screenshot of a post describes Jensen Huang’s unconventional management style at Nvidia: a flat organization, no one-on-ones or formal status reports, broad access to information, and constant adaptation. The punchline is the photo of Huang holding a graphics card, presenting his extreme leadership practices as the secret behind Nvidia’s success. It is shared as a reaction to unusually effective, chaotic, or anti-bureaucratic management.

• @jemalloc / 1277 2023-09-13