Core content
1. About Team Management
The 60 executives in the team are all my direct subordinates, reporting directly to me on their work.
2. About Employees
I am more inclined to help people grow and improve, rather than simply giving up. To dismiss someone means, to some extent, saying "it's not your fault" or "I made the wrong decision.". But I believe that very few people are born incapable of performing a certain job. I used to clean the toilet, but now I have become the CEO of the company.
3. About Childhood
Because I am only 9 years old, I have to clean all the toilets after they leave. I never felt like I got a simple job... it was my job, I did it very carefully.
4. About work
I start working from the moment I wake up in the morning until I go to bed at night. I work 7 days a week. When I am not at work, I still think about work.
5. About corporate culture and values
I often use the word "love", and "care" is also something I often mention. Because in many cases, they can most accurately express emotions that cannot be described with other words.
6. The relationship between AI and enterprise development
For every enterprise, actively participating in the development of artificial intelligence is crucial. Your company will not go bankrupt due to artificial intelligence, but if you fail to utilize it in a timely manner, other companies using artificial intelligence may put you at risk of bankruptcy.
At the recent Stripe Sessions user conference, Patrick Collison, co-founder and CEO of mobile payment giant Stripe, had an in-depth fireside conversation with Huang Renxun, CEO of graphics processor giant Nvidia. In this conversation, two industry leaders discussed multiple important topics such as artificial intelligence, corporate culture, and future technological trends.
Source: Screenshot on Strip
Regarding team management and leadership, Huang Renxun revealed that he directly manages a team of 60 executives and emphasized the importance of this management approach for Nvidia. He said, "The 60 executives in the team are all my direct subordinates, reporting directly to me." Huang Renxun emphasized that this model aims to reduce the internal hierarchy of the company and promote transparency and sharing of information. Subsequently, he shared strategies to stimulate the potential of team members by "honing" them, and emphasized the importance of trust and not giving up easily. "I would rather 'sharpen' you and make you great because I trust you. I believe that leaders who truly believe in their team will do their best to 'sharpen' them and make them great."
When talking about corporate culture, Huang Renxun emphasized the importance of "love" and "care", believing that although these emotions cannot be quantified, they have a profound impact on both customers and employees. "I often use the word 'love', and 'care' is also something I often mention, because in many cases, they can most accurately express emotions that cannot be described with other words."
In the dialogue, Huang Renxun compared the current progress of AI with the industrial revolution in history. He believes that, The impact of AI will bring profound economic and social changes, just like the popularization of steam engines and electricity. He said, "We are in a new wave of industrial revolution, where electrons become inputs and floating-point numbers are produced as intelligent carriers."
In the conversation, Huang Renxun specifically mentioned the impact of ChatGPT on the development of AI technology: "If you ask me what was the most important event in the past few years, I will tell you, first of all, ChatGPT." He believes that ChatGPT optimizes models through reinforcement learning and human feedback, making them more in line with human values, and promoting the popularization of technology.
Regarding the implementation of General Artificial Intelligence (AGI), Huang Renxun expressed an optimistic attitude: "If we define AGI based on the existing benchmark test checklist, then I am confident that we will achieve excellent results in these tests in the near future." He predicted that based on the current development trend of model accuracy, AGI may be achieved within the next 5 years.
Huang Renxun discussed the potential of AI in enhancing enterprise productivity and creating new opportunities. He pointed out, "For every enterprise, actively participating in the development of artificial intelligence is crucial. Your company will not go bankrupt due to artificial intelligence, but if you fail to utilize it in a timely manner, other companies using artificial intelligence may put you at risk of bankruptcy." Huang Renxun also suggested to business leaders, "I strongly recommend that all enterprises invest in the research and application of artificial intelligence as soon as possible." He emphasized that using artificial intelligence, enterprises can achieve previously thought impossible things at lower costs.
When discussing the balance between personal work and life, Huang Renxun shared his attitude of fully dedicating himself to work. He said, "I start working from the moment I wake up in the morning until I go to bed at night. I work 7 days a week. When I'm not at work, I still think about work."
The following is an excerpt from the dialogue between Huang Renxun and Krisson:
Krisson: My guest today is Huang Renxun. First of all, I would like to share a little-known fact - by this month, Huang Renxun has been serving as the CEO of NVIDIA for 31 years. This makes him one of the longest serving CEOs in the technology industry, compared to me and John Collison, Stripe's co-founder and Patrick's brother have less than half of his CEO experience. Even if our term doubles, it will still be difficult to match his height. We will discuss topics related to education. Huang Renxun received his education at Onita Baptist Institute in Kentucky, and later pursued further studies at a state university in Oregon. He also had the experience of serving at Denny's restaurant, which happened to be not far from here. He previously worked at LSI Logic (a large-scale integrated circuit logic company in the United States) and AMD, which are now led by his distant relative Su Zifeng. Nvidia was founded in 1993. When Stripe was founded in 2011, Nvidia's market value was only $8 billion, but now this number has grown more than 200 times. His career has always been full of vitality, let's warmly welcome Mr. Huang Renxun.
1. "I wish you all enough pain and suffering"
Krisson: I would like to delve deeper into the sentence you mentioned at the Stanford event: "I wish you all the best in your life to experience enough pain and suffering." Could you please explain in detail the meaning behind this sentence for us?
Huang Renxun: Actually, there is a common misconception here that people often equate passion with happiness. But I think this viewpoint is not comprehensive. Passion is indeed important, but if you want to achieve a great career, you need to go through various challenges and difficulties. And when you face these difficulties, you may not always feel happy, but this is the process of growth. I don't enjoy my work every day, nor am I satisfied with the progress of the company every year, but I love this company deeply and it's always the case.
People often misunderstand the true meaning of work. The best jobs are not those that keep you happy, but those that allow you to experience challenges, constantly grow, and surpass yourself. You need to experience pain and struggle in order to truly appreciate what you are doing.
Krisson: Did your upbringing experience lead you to form such thoughts, or was it a natural belief in you?
Huang Renxun: I want to share some experiences that I have never disclosed to the outside world, even my family may not be aware of. As an immigrant, I came to this country in 1973 when I was only 9 years old and my brother was almost 11 years old. Facing a brand new environment, everything is not easy. Our parents are very impressive, but we are not wealthy, so they work hard and set an example for us. They have passed on a lot of life experiences through hard work. I have also done various jobs, from household chores at school to serving as a waiter at Denny's restaurant.
The school I attend is a boarding school, so there are many household chores to do. As the youngest child in the school, I got a simple job when all the other children went to work on a tobacco farm. Because I am only 9 years old, I have to clean all the toilets after they leave. I never felt like I got a simple job because of what they left behind... but that was my job and I did it very carefully. Then, I had many other jobs, including Danny's Restaurant. I started as a dishwasher, later became a cleaner, and finally became a waiter.
I love every job and always strive to do my best. These experiences have taught me the importance of hard work and perseverance, perhaps this is the philosophy I firmly believed in from the beginning. I can confidently say that I am the most outstanding bathroom cleaner in the world.
2. "Nvidia's leadership team has 60 people, report directly to me."
Krisson: Let's talk about Nvidia now. What is the size of your leadership team?
Huang Renxun: Nvidia's leadership team currently has 60 members.
Krisson: Do they all report their work directly to you?
Huang Renxun: Indeed, they are all my direct subordinates who report their work directly to me.
Krisson: This is usually not highly respected in management practice.
Huang Renxun: I fully understand this, but I firmly believe that this is the most suitable model for us. Firstly, I believe that the hierarchical structure within a company is crucial for information dissemination. I firmly believe that everyone's contribution to the company's work should not be based on their privileged access to information. Therefore, I avoid one-on-one meetings and instead try to share all the information with everyone in the team as much as possible. This is the challenge that the company is facing, the problem I am trying to solve, and the new direction we are trying to work towards.
I believe that everyone should have the right to access all important information about the company. I am passionate about seeing our team play the same song together like a symphony orchestra, without the privileged class of information, but rather working together to face and solve problems. When 60 team members gather together and hold weekly meetings, we always discuss around the core issues we face. Everyone actively participates, understands the root cause of the problem, explores solutions together, and ensures transparency and sharing of information.
This approach greatly stimulates the potential of team members, and I firmly believe that when everyone has equal access to information, we will come together as a powerful force to drive the development of the company. This is the core of empowerment, and also the first point. Secondly, if the CEO has 60 direct subordinates, it actually reduces the company's internal management hierarchy by approximately seven levels.
Krisson: I rarely need to defend traditional management wisdom, but from an opposing perspective, one-on-one meetings are often used to provide guidance, discuss goals (including personal goals and career development), and provide targeted feedback. Aren't you doing this? Or do you have other ways to achieve these goals?
Huang Renxun: I am indeed giving feedback, but I am doing it in front of everyone. I think this is very important because feedback is essentially a learning opportunity. Why should only one person benefit from this experience? You caused a situation due to some mistake or improper behavior, but all of us should learn from it. Therefore, discussing this issue in front of the team helps everyone learn how to avoid similar mistakes, and learning from the mistakes of others is the best way to learn.
Krisson: Have you successfully promoted this management practice in other leadership positions at Nvidia? Or did you foresee the difficulties involved?
Huang Renxun: I give team members full freedom to interpret and practice, but I do not recommend one-on-one meetings. Actually, I try my best to avoid one-on-one communication because nothing drives me crazy more than "Oh, Huang Renxun wants us to do this". The information should be public and everyone should be aware of it. If someone conveys something privately, it really bothers me.
Krisson: As you mentioned before, you don't like hiring people and rarely do so. Can you talk specifically about it?
Huang Renxun: I am more inclined to help people grow and improve, rather than simply giving up. To dismiss someone means, to some extent, saying "it's not your fault" or "I made the wrong decision.". But I believe that very few people are born incapable of performing a certain job. I used to clean the toilet, but now I have become the CEO of the company. I firmly believe that as long as given the opportunity, everyone can learn and grow. There are many smart people around me who are always doing excellent work, and I have learned a lot from each of them. Therefore, I don't like to give up on others because I believe they can become better. This may sound like a joke, but people know that I prefer to "sharpen" them and make them great.
Krisson: This is indeed the viewpoint you mentioned before, and I am very impressed.
Huang Renxun: Yes, I would rather "sharpen" you and make you great because I trust you. I believe that leaders who truly believe in their team will do their utmost to "hone" them and make them great. Greatness often comes unintentionally. You may have known nothing yesterday, but suddenly one day it becomes clear. So I won't let you give up. I will continue to hone you.
3. "I work 7 days a week"
Krisson: How do you view work life balance?
Huang Renxun: I think I have a good balance between work and life. I work wholeheartedly because I love it.
Krisson: I think these are the highlights of our conversation, and more people should hear them.
Huang Renxun: I start working from the moment I wake up in the morning until I go to bed at night. I work 7 days a week. When I am not working, I still think about work, but when I am working, I am fully committed to it. Even if I watch a movie, I may have been thinking about work all the time, to the point where I forget the content of the movie. But my job is not just about solving daily problems, but more about thinking about the future of the company or whether we can do better. Sometimes it's trying to solve problems, sometimes it's imagining the future and trying new possibilities.
Krisson: So, specifically, how did you spend your day?
Huang Renxun: I used to wake up at 5 o'clock in the morning, but recently, due to my dog always waking up at 6 o'clock in the morning, I have also been forced to adjust my biological clock. They seem to have decided that 6 o'clock is the time when they should wake up, so I have to follow their rhythm. I don't know why, I don't mind waking anyone up, but I feel guilty about waking up a puppy, which actually makes me very annoyed. I don't want to move, you know they will notice any vibrations in the house, which will wake them up. So I will read in bed until 6 o'clock.
Krisson: What do you mainly do in your daily work?
Huang Renxun: I am always immersed in these thoughts. Then, my day was basically filled with group meetings because I firmly believed in the power of collective wisdom and avoided the limitations of one-on-one meetings. I will handle some affairs before going to work, and when I arrive at the office, most of the time is spent on meetings.
Krisson: How many meetings do you usually attend per day?
Huang Renxun: There are meetings almost all day long. But I will choose those meetings that are truly important and valuable to me. I try to avoid routine report meetings as there are many talented individuals in the company who can handle daily operations. As a CEO, I tend to focus more on issues that others find difficult or unresolved, as well as innovative and forward-looking projects. Therefore, I mainly participate in problem-solving meetings, creative meetings, and brainstorming sessions. I strive to control my time and not let Outlook become the entirety of my life.
4. "CUDA is one of the most important inventions in the field of modern computing"
Krisson: What are the stories behind the birth of CUDA?
Huang Renxun: The birth of CUDA (Unified Computing Device Architecture) stems from two core ideas. Firstly, we invented the concept of Accelerated Computing, which represents a new type of IO device that enables applications to interact with it in a more efficient manner, thereby accelerating specific parts of the application. The origin of this concept can be traced back to 1993, as it allows software programmers to program IO devices directly. Due to the virtualization characteristics of IO devices, architecture compatibility is maintained across multiple generations. We call it the Unified Device Architecture and a few years later decided to further promote the advanced programming language programmability of GPUs, hence the invention of CG (C for Graphics). However, The programming model of CG is not perfect, so we extended it and ultimately gave birth to CUDA, Compute Unified Device Architecture. This is the starting point of CUDA, although the story may sound convoluted, it is a crucial step towards achieving our vision.
Krisson: So, Has the launch of CUDA immediately received a warm response from the market?
Huang Renxun: No, its launch was actually a disaster.
Krisson: In the face of such a dilemma, have you considered giving up CUDA and returning to your original strategy?
Huang Renxun: No, I have never considered giving up. I know our direction is correct, it just takes time to prove.
Krisson: But analysts and the board may not have thought so at the time. How did you stick to your beliefs? Did the board of directors put pressure on you during this period?
Huang Renxun: They trust me because I have shown a firm belief, which stems from careful consideration. This is not a simple verbal promise, but requires them to believe my reasoning and words.
Krisson: So, How long did it take for CUDA to show its effectiveness?
Huang Renxun: About ten years.
Krisson: Ten years, which almost takes up one-third of your tenure.
Huang Renxun: Yes, there are ups and downs in between, but I prefer to look forward. Those difficulties have now turned into fleeting clouds.
Krisson: Do you think Nvidia can achieve such tremendous success in the field of artificial intelligence without CUDA?
Huang Renxun: It's impossible. CUDA is one of the most important inventions in the field of modern computing. We were the first to propose the concept of accelerated computing, which, although simple, has a profound impact. It indicates that only a small portion of the program code occupies the vast majority of the runtime, which is true for many critical applications. We can greatly improve overall performance by accelerating those core parts, and this process is not simply parallel processing, it involves more complex mechanisms. But the core idea is that we can accelerate the key parts of the software to the extreme. Today, as Moore's Law slows down, The improvement of CPU performance has come to a standstill. If we cannot accelerate every software, computing costs will skyrocket because global computing demand is doubling every year
转播
