Book Discussion: The Nvidia Way
A deeply reported business history of the chip-designer Nvidia, from its founding in 1993 to its recent emergence as one of the most valuable corporations in the world, explaining how the company’s culture, overseen by cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang, has powered its incredible success.
We value your insights, not whether you finished the book.
📖 Here is how it works:
Prior to the event: choose your level of participation:
Light: Watch the following 70-min Video by the book author: https://youtu.be/q6aQDkGSOKs?si=d0bZIsQ8WHel7HWY
In-depth: Read the book (https://www.amazon.com/Nvidia-Way-Jensen-Huang-Making/dp/1324086718)
During the event: We will breakout into small groups (max 7 people per group). Participants that opted to read the selected book will be grouped together.
Discussion Questions:
Jensen Huang’s “first place or nothing” ethos sets an uncompromising bar that shapes behavior across the company. How do we embed a results-first standard without breeding burnout or counterproductive perfectionism?
“Mission is the boss” drives blunt, politics-free decision-making and fast execution. What specific rituals and norms should we adopt to keep debates candid yet constructive and mission-aligned?
Radical transparency via weekly “Top Five” updates gives leadership a real-time pulse of the business. How can we implement a lightweight, organization-wide information flow that surfaces problems early and guides resource allocation?
Six-month product cadences and “speed of light” thinking turn time into a weapon. What would it take for us to redesign our development cycle around physical constraints rather than organizational habits?
Long-term bets on programmable GPUs and CUDA created a durable platform before the market arrived. How do we decide which frontier bets to fund for a decade, and what milestones should govern persistence versus pivot?
Surviving early failures and near-bankruptcy required improvisation, partnerships, and ruthless prioritization. What contingency playbook should we build so that in a crisis we can secure capital, talent, and customer trust quickly?
👥 Who should join
AI practitioners, startup founders, students, and researchers curious about AI’s development and impact.
Community Ground Rules
To provide an enjoyable experience for fellow participants, here are three ground rules during discussion events:
Step up and step back. (If you feel that you’ve been talking too much, step back to listen more. If you feel that you’ve been relatively quiet, step up to share your perspective or ask a question)
Listen to understand, not to respond.
Be open-minded and value differences.