Former employees revealed new details with Business Insider about the Nvidia CEO’s email communication style after insiders recently told The New Yorker that Huang’s memos are like Japanese haiku.
Three former Nvidia workers said Huang’s emails are usually concise, no more than six lines long, and he expects people to cut to the chase.
One likened it to a short “TL;DR type approach,” meaning “too long; didn’t read.” The ex-Nvidia worker said: “It was explained early on that you have to get it down to a staccato type of email, and the whole company ran like this — not just Jensen.”
A former Nvidia executive said it was a way to “foster the crystallization of priority and thought.”
He told BI: “You’d get in trouble for sending a super-long email to him. Emails at Nvidia are double-spaced, one sentence per line, and probably no more than five or six lines.”
He added: “The idea was to nail down what you have to say, send it, and if he, or others, need more information, then it’s a conversation, not another email.”
The former exec said identifying key points is essential to get people to pay attention. It’s a useful communication technique that quickly summarizes complex topics, but may not come easily.
The people BI spoke to said “Nvidians” are expected to email Huang and their managers the top five priorities they’re working on each week to help people focus.
Another person said these lists help Huang get a “quick pulse check” on what’s happening across the company. It would sometimes lead to him suggesting employees from different departments or regions talk and collaborate on challenges.
The expectation for a well-crafted email is reminiscent of Jeff Bezos’ six-page memo that Amazon staff circulate at the beginning of a meeting. Bezos has said that the memos are read in silence and serve as a way to better formulate ideas.
Nvidia declined to comment.
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