Jensen Huang is the founder, president and CEO of NVIDIA. The items below are things Huang said in a 2024 Stripe Sessions fireside chat with Patrick Collison, in the 2023 National Taiwan University commencement address, and at a Stanford event. — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
On Leadership and Management Style
Huang's approach to leadership is characterized by a flat organizational structure, radical transparency, and a relentless focus on empowering employees. He is known for having a large number of direct reports to foster open communication and quick decision-making.
1. Doing Their Life's Work. In the 2023 National Taiwan University commencement address, of a professor who built a supercomputer from gaming cards, Huang said "those words touch me to this day and perfectly capture our company's purpose to help the Einstein and da Vinci of our time do their life's work". — Jensen Huang: National Taiwan University commencement address (May 27, 2023), captions.
2. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said: "NVIDIA’s leadership team is 60 people" and "I don’t do one-on-ones and my staff is quite large". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
3. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said: "I give you feedback right there in front of everybody". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
4. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said: "Learning from mistakes, other people’s mistakes, is the best way to learn.". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
5. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said: "I believe that when you give everybody equal access to information, it empowers people.". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
6. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said: "Almost everything that I say, I say to everybody all at the same time.". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
7. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said: "I’d rather improve you than give up on you" and "people know that I’d rather torture them into greatness". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
8. Layers of Hierarchy. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said "the layer of hierarchy in your company really matters". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
9. Access to Information. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said "I believe that your contribution to the work should not be based on the privileged access to information". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
11. Doing the Hard Things. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said "You have to do those hard things and work through it in order to really appreciate what you've done". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
12. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said: "Look, I used to clean bathrooms, and now I’m the CEO of a company.". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
15. At Stanford, Huang said: "People with very high expectations have very low resilience". — Fortune: Jensen Huang tells Stanford students their high expectations make it hard to succeed (Mar 2024).
On Strategy and Execution
For Huang, strategy is not a static document but a living, breathing entity defined by daily actions and a willingness to venture into uncharted territory.
16. Humility and Asking for Help. In the 2023 National Taiwan University commencement address, Huang said that what saved NVIDIA was "confronting our mistake and with humility asking for help". — Jensen Huang: National Taiwan University commencement address (May 27, 2023), captions.
17. The Wrong Strategy. In the 2023 National Taiwan University commencement address, Huang said "after one year of development we realized our architecture was the wrong strategy". — Jensen Huang: National Taiwan University commencement address (May 27, 2023), captions.
18. Doing What Has Never Been Done. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said "almost all of our purposes should be to go and do something that has never been done before that is insanely hard to do". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
19. Hard, Long and Committed. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said "If it's really, really hard to do, it takes a long time to do, it takes us a really resilient and a really dedicated, really committed person to go after it". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
20. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said: "A zero-billion-dollar market is a good way to cause the company to think about how to go create something for the first time.". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
21. What to Give Up. In the 2023 National Taiwan University commencement address, Huang said "strategic retreat sacrifice deciding what to give up is at the core the very core of success". — Jensen Huang: National Taiwan University commencement address (May 27, 2023), captions.
22. A Unique Contribution. In the 2023 National Taiwan University commencement address, Huang said "we should dedicate ourselves to realizing our vision and to making a unique contribution". — Jensen Huang: National Taiwan University commencement address (May 27, 2023), captions.
24. Running for Food. In the 2023 National Taiwan University commencement address, closing, Huang told graduates to run after what they create, and said "either you're running for food or you are running from being food". — Jensen Huang: National Taiwan University commencement address (May 27, 2023), captions.
25. Retreat From a Giant Market. In the 2023 National Taiwan University commencement address, Huang described the decision "to retreat from a giant phone market to create a zero billion dollar robotics Market". — Jensen Huang: National Taiwan University commencement address (May 27, 2023), captions.
28. Accelerated Computing. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said "we pioneered this idea called accelerated computing". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
On Innovation and Technology
At the heart of Huang's philosophy is a deep belief in the transformative power of technology and the relentless pursuit of innovation.
31. A Rebirth of Computing. In the 2023 National Taiwan University commencement address, Huang said "AI has reinvented computing from the ground up in every way this is a rebirth of the computer industry". — Jensen Huang: National Taiwan University commencement address (May 27, 2023), captions.
32. Problems Normal Computers Cannot Solve. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said "we really believe that accelerated computing was going to be able to solve problems that normal computers couldn't". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
33. Computation Inflation. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said "If we don't accelerate every software, you're going to see extraordinary computation inflation". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
34. Producing Tokens. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said "we're producing tokens". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
36. The Beginning of a Major Era. In the 2023 National Taiwan University commencement address, Huang said "we are at the beginning of a major technology era like PC internet mobile and Cloud but AI is far more fundamental because every Computing layer has been reinvented". — Jensen Huang: National Taiwan University commencement address (May 27, 2023), captions.
37. Learning to Take Advantage of AI. In the 2023 National Taiwan University commencement address, Huang said "every company and you must learn to take advantage of AI". — Jensen Huang: National Taiwan University commencement address (May 27, 2023), captions.
39. Joy Is Not the Definition of a Good Day. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said "I don't think every day brings me joy nor does joy have to be the definition of a good day". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
40. Given the Opportunity to Learn. At Stripe Sessions 2024, Huang said "There are a lot of things in life that I believe you can learn and you just have to be given the opportunity to learn it". — Stripe Sessions 2024: A conversation with NVIDIA's Jensen Huang (with Patrick Collison), transcript.
41. Success Until NVIDIA. In the 2023 National Taiwan University commencement address, Huang said "today is the most successful day of your life so far you're graduating from the national Taiwan University I was also successful until I started Nvidia". — Jensen Huang: National Taiwan University commencement address (May 27, 2023), captions.
42. Pain and Suffering Forge Character. In the 2023 National Taiwan University commencement address, Huang said "a journey forged our corporate character to endure the pain and suffering that is always needed to realize a vision". — Jensen Huang: National Taiwan University commencement address (May 27, 2023), captions.
On Personal Philosophy and Growth
Huang's personal journey and work ethic are deeply intertwined with his professional success, offering valuable lessons on perseverance and the pursuit of excellence.
50. At Stanford, Huang told students: "I wish upon you ample doses of pain and suffering". — Fortune: Jensen Huang tells Stanford students their high expectations make it hard to succeed (Mar 2024).
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