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Back to #403 How Jensen Works, with David Senra.

What Is Jensen Huang's Speed of Light?

David Senra, reading Tae Kim's The Nvidia Way, says Jensen Huang's speed of light is the only benchmark Nvidia uses for how fast work should move: the absolute maximum the laws of physics allow. Employees are supposed to work at that speed. The comparison is not last quarter and not another company.

Each project is broken into tasks, and each task gets a target that assumes no delays, no queues, and no downtime. The target is the theoretical maximum. It is physically impossible to go faster, and Nvidia judges itself against it.

The standard is there to stop the internal rot Huang saw at other companies. People are not allowed to aim at what is likely or merely reasonable. The only measure is what maximum effort and the least wasted time would make possible.

Grokipedia·David Senra

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#403 How Jensen Works ·

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More from this episode

  1. Why Does Jensen Huang Have So Many Direct Reports?David Senra, reading Tae Kim's The Nvidia Way, says Jensen Huang keeps 60 direct reports and does not hold one-on-one meetings.
  2. What Is Jensen Huang's Top-five Email?David Senra, reading Tae Kim's The Nvidia Way, says Jensen Huang's top-five email is how he gets unfiltered news from Nvidia's tens of thousands of employees.
  3. What Is a Pilot in Command at Nvidia?David Senra, reading Tae Kim's The Nvidia Way, says a pilot in command at Nvidia is the named leader Jensen Huang assigns at the start of every project.
  4. Why Does Jensen Huang Have No Five-year Plan?David Senra, reading Tae Kim's The Nvidia Way, says Jensen Huang has no five-year plan because he treats strategy as action, not as words.
  5. Why Did Jensen Huang Bet Nvidia on a Market That Didn't Exist?David Senra, reading Tae Kim's The Nvidia Way, says Jensen Huang would rather create a market than fight for share of one that already exists.
  6. Why Does Jensen Huang Choke People With Gold?David Senra, reading Tae Kim's The Nvidia Way, says Jensen Huang will choke his best people with gold so they will work with him.
  7. Why Did Jensen Huang Keep Funding CUDA in 2008?David Senra, reading Tae Kim's The Nvidia Way, says Jensen Huang kept funding CUDA through 2007 and 2008 while Nvidia's gross margin fell from 45% to 35%.

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