The Thinking Machine

Having just finished The Thinking Machine, the NVIDIA story, it struck me that while many see NVIDIA as an AI company, it is, at its core, an innovation company, and always has been.

Two leadership moments from Jensen Huang stand out.

First, he famously kept a list on his wall of the best people at other companies he wanted inside NVIDIA, a clear signal that talent matters.

Second, and more powerful, is how he handled the only loss in NVIDIA’s history, a failed product that died within three months, forcing the company to refund customers at a cost of roughly $200m. Instead of punishing the division head, Jensen was explicit, if he took a hardline approach, he would kill innovation across the company. He knew the future depended on people taking risks, even when the outcome was uncertain. The failure became a leadership moment, it was safe to try, safe to fail, and leadership would take responsibility.

In my work as a coach, we often talk about defining success and aligning KPIs to it, and that matters, but this story is a reminder that when you truly trust great people, leadership is less about policing metrics and more about creating clarity, safety, and the tools for them to do their best work.