Nvidia's Jensen Huang says he cleaned a lot of toilets, Elon Musk praises: ‘Right attitude’
Jensen Huang conceived the idea for Nvidia in the same booth where he once cleaned tables, washed dishes as well as toilets.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang worked as a busboy at a restaurant years before co-founding his company which is now worth over $3.1 trillion. The tech boss conceived the idea for Nvidia in the same booth where he once cleaned tables, washed dishes as well as toilets, he shared.
Reflecting on his humble beginnings and how they have shaped his leadership, Jensen Huang said, "No task is beneath me because, remember, I used to be a dishwasher [and] I used to clean toilets. I’ve cleaned more toilets than all of you combined — and some of them you just can’t unsee."
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But everyone should have the willingness to tackle any job if it helps his employees and improves the company, he asserted, adding, “If you send me something and want my input, and I can be of service to you, I’ve made a contribution.”
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Talking about how he attempts to be a more hands-on boss, Jensen Huang is described as “demanding” and a “perfectionist" by Nvidia employees whom he asks to email him their five most important tasks weekly and sometimes visits their desks to discuss projects. The billionaire believes in showing his reasoning for suggestions as he explained, "I show people how to reason through things all the time: strategy, forecasting, problem-solving. You’re empowering people all over the place."
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Leadership is more about empowering employees to succeed, he said. “The job of any good CEO is to lead others to achieve greatness, inspire, empower, and support them. The management team exists to serve all the other people in the company,” he emphasized.
Elon Musk praised Jensen Huang and said in a post on X (formerly Twitter), ""Absolutely the right attitude. During the toilet paper shortages of Covid, I was making sure that our factories and offices had toilet paper!"
