Africa's brightest can learn this from the world's leading CEO...
Jensen Huang built Nvidia by consistently investing in the future... this is how he did it. African leaders in business and politics can learn a lot from his courage, innovation and drive.
Jensen Huang went from dishwasher to co-founding a $ 2 trillion company!
“You have to be lazy in doing things that other people can do and diligent in doing things that other people can’t do. You have to convince yourself that the work you are doing isn’t just important, it’s essential.”
Watch the intro by clicking the image below!
Jensen Huang, a Taiwan-born immigrant in the US, started his career as a dishwasher at “Denny’s”, as he hustled his way through engineering school. He still claims that he was the best dishwasher Denny’s ever had.
Shortly after he finished school, he got a job at LSI Logic, one of the nation’s top computer hardware companies. When most might have settled for the security of his new position, Jensen decided to take a leap of faith to co-found Nvidia, a computer chip company that makes chips that process information that normal CPUs can’t process.
The first application of this new type of chip technology was 3D graphics and the first market was gaming for personal computers. No one was starting a PC gaming chip company in 1993. There was no market, it was expensive to start and Jensen didn’t even know how to write a business plan.
Jensen, however, had a vision that they could create chips that could solve problems that regular chips couldn’t solve and he had a conviction that pursuing this work would be important for the world.
So they embarked on their journey to convert 3D graphics technology that cost a million dollars at the time into a product that cost a few hundred dollars. As we saw with Rockefeller, Gates and Ford… huge wealth creation comes when entrepreneurs bring innovations that were once for the select few… to the masses.
31 years later… Nvidia is a $2 trillion company that seemed to grow like a weed out of nowhere and become the best performing stock on the S&P 500.
It takes guts to start a company. It takes even more guts to start a company based on unproven technology, for unproven markets… yet Jensen has built Nvidia based on the idea of investing into the future.
The commitment to that idea has enabled his company to consistently be on the edge of new trends far before they become mainstream and when the market comes around… they are waiting with open arms. That’s how Nvidia became the fastest growing company on the S&P 500… the bets that they made a decade ago are just paying off now.
Here are some of our key insights into how Jensen built Nvidia into a company that invests into the future…
You can succeed in inventing the future even if you weren’t informed about it at all
Jensen, when faced with challenges, always approaches them by asking… “How hard can it be?”. That attitude helped him turn things around when failure seemed certain.
The next breakthrough could be a book, article or paper away… and it often was. The key was not to copy someone’s approach to a solution, but to think from first principles asking… given his motivations, the current technology, the world, markets… how could he reinvent or reimagine a solution.
You stay ahead of everyone by investing your resources according to your core beliefs
Naval Ravikant talks about how trend chasing is often a race to the bottom for most. Hype can carry companies for a while, but eventually, the well dries up leaving entrepreneurs holding the empty bag.
While other companies tried to ride waves and catch trends, Nvidia was miles ahead because they had invested in building expertise in those markets a decade before… when they weren’t even markets.
They were able to do this because they stimulated progress by being focused on their core belief that the accelerated computing technology that they were pioneering would be impactful and important for the world.
It’s hard to stay focused when results are so far ahead into the future, but by staying dead-set on his core belief, Jensen steered the company through tough times like his stock losing 80% of its value. Focus on the core… always.
Find inspiration, not from the size of a market, but from the importance of the work
Jensen says that the importance of the work is an early indicator of a future market. He doesn’t choose paths because of business cases, P&Ls and financial forecasts. The only question that matters is… if you don’t do it, will it be done?
You have to be lazy in doing things that other people can do and diligent in doing things that other people can’t do. You have to convince yourself that the work you are doing isn’t just important, it’s essential.
The world might fall apart if you don’t commit yourself to it. That ignites a sense of purpose into the company and pushes people to accomplish great things.
That being said, it’s still important to look for early indicators of future success because a solution that can’t serve an interesting market may not be sustainable in the long run. It’s a balancing act between inspiration and pragmatism.
Jensen says that it’s the job of individuals and companies to have purpose… to make a unique contribution… to do something that others aren’t able or willing to do, so when it’s over, the world will be a better place because of your presence.
As a leader, no task is beneath you
Jensen always smiles as he reflects on his time as a dishwasher and the amount of effort he put into his work. To lead others, you must first lead yourself. To expect greatness from others, you must first demand greatness from yourself.
Jensen says that his job as CEO… is to create the conditions for his employees to do their life’s work. That’s why he takes the time to help his people reason through problems and creates an environment where information is shared as openly, widely and quickly as possible.
Knowledge is power, and by empowering the people who’ve entrusted him as their leader, he elevates the company as a whole.
Why is this relevant for Africa’s brightest?
The dire challenges that Africa faces need courageous business and political leaders who ask, “How hard can it be?”. Transformation can only happen when we commit, like Jensen, to solving hard problems in both the public and private sectors. We must educate ourselves relentlessly and then apply first principles to reimagining solutions by asking ourselves… given the current technology, world and markets… How can we reinvent solutions that lead to growth?
Secondly, African business and political leaders need to establish their core beliefs in order to plan and invest successfully in a prosperous future. We know how Jensen Huang did this but in the world of governance, Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of Singapore, also had a deep belief for his nation’s future. He believed that despite Singapore’s lack of natural resources, superior intelligence, discipline, and ingenuity could substitute for these limitations. Singapore went from third to first world in 30 years. That’s the power of strong beliefs.
Thirdly, African business and political leaders must tackle hard problems based on their importance in the long-term, not just short term gains. African businesses and nations have to increase their competitiveness in the long-term by making unique contributions to the world. To do that, we have to create pragmatic, innovative and sustainable plans for the future. The more unique and important the solutions are, the more value we can create for Africa.
Lastly, African business and political leaders must humble themselves and be willing to get their hands dirty. As a leader, no task is beneath you. Part of the reason for Japan’s economic success was the absence of a blue and white collar class in companies. In Japan, the white collar, professional class was called a grey class because they wouldn’t hesitate to work machines on factory floors in order to understand the sentiments of the factory workers. By working on the ground and seeing the impact of the work first-hand, leaders will be able to both improve their solutions and the morale of their people.
Conclusion
Jensen is undoubtedly one of the greatest CEOs of all time and the story of Nvidia will keep ringing long after he’s gone. His humility, vision and empathy have enabled him to build Nvidia into one of the greatest companies that they world has ever seen.
As Africa’s leaders, we must adopt the best ideas from around the world in order to jumpstart the progress that we need in the public and private sectors. That progress starts with each and every one of us working to elevate ourselves and the parts of the world we can impact. I wish you all the best as you keep investing into the future.
Until next time,
Max
Announcement!
Sources
“Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO of Nvidia” - Stanford Graduate School of Business (Watch the whole interview here!)
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