Yes, Jensen Huang Would Probably Giggle at Your Org Chart
“I see a lot of companies’ organization charts, and they all look the same...It doesn't make any sense to me." Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDA.
And if anyone has earned the right to laugh, it’s Jensen Huang, a proven master of execution.
Almost everyone manages with traditional org charts; consisting of separate silos for HR, Sales, Fulfillment, etc. Unfortunately, these inherently impede execution. If this is you, don't feel bad, instead take action and organize by how you create value (before your competition does).
Details - You may think you are good at execution, but are you really?
While the world obsesses over sports legends like Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, or Lionel Messi, we rarely study execution at the highest corporate level with the same intensity. Yet Huang has done something arguably more impressive: he built and scaled NVIDIA into the world’s most valuable company by mastering the invisible machinery of organizational execution.
Everyone should study Jensen Huang the way athletes study great sports stars; because his approach to leadership and structure delivers repeatable, world-changing results.
On the Lex Fridman Podcast #494, Huang delivered a line that should make every executive uncomfortable:
“I see a lot of companies’ organization charts, and they all look the same. Hamburger company organization charts, software company organization charts, and car company organization charts. They all look the same. And it doesn’t make any sense to me.” (~4:51)
He continued: the goal of a company is to be “the machinery, the mechanism, the system that produces the output…the architecture of the company should reflect the environment by which it exists.”
Huang doesn’t just talk about it, he lives it. He runs NVIDIA with more than 60 direct reports, skips traditional one-on-ones, and favors group problem solving and “extreme co-design.” No bloated hamburger layers. No generic pyramid. Just a flat, output-focused structure engineered for speed and innovation in the AI era.
The Hidden Cost of “Normal” Org Charts
If your org chart looks like everyone else’s, you’re probably experiencing the same predictable problems:
White-space gaps between functions where accountability disappears and problems hide.
Functional fiefdoms and tribal conflict: sales vs. product, manufacturing vs. marketing, engineering vs. the rest.
Middle-management bloat that grows to patch coordination failures…only to be cut in the next restructuring, then grow back again.
These aren’t people problems. They are design problems caused by poor leadership. Traditional hierarchies optimize for control and functional excellence, but they often fail at holistic execution.
The Better Way: Engineer Your Company Like an Operating System
In Chapters 8 and 9 of my book on The CDX Method, I show exactly why these “hamburger” org charts fail and how shifting to Enterprise Core Processes (end-to-end value streams that span functions) builds the kind of lean, high-output machinery that powers companies like NVIDIA.
How to Start Moving Beyond the Generic Org Chart
You don’t need a massive reorg tomorrow. Begin with three practical steps:
Create a Core Process Summary Diagram — Map your real value creation flows, not just reporting lines.
Assign true Enterprise Leaders — Give one accountable owner end-to-end responsibility for each major process.
Progress through maturity stages: Solve obvious white-space problems → Challenge outdated constraints → Fully reengineer for breakthrough performance.
Leaders who master this balance the necessary “wave-particle duality” of functional excellence and Enterprise Core Process management. It’s not comfortable, but it’s essential.
The Leadership Core in Action
Huang doesn’t treat structure as an afterthought. He treats it as Core Work, the everyday responsibility of leadership to design and relentlessly improve the machinery of execution. That’s why his organization moves with such speed and coherence.
Most leaders focus heavily on Dynamic Work (vision, strategy, big bets). The great ones, like Huang, never forget their Core Work responsibility: building a system that actually delivers results year after year.
Your Challenge
Pull up your org chart.
If it looks like a standard “hamburger” design…Jensen Huang would probably laugh.
More importantly, your competitors who treat their organization as a custom-designed execution engine will keep pulling ahead.
The AI era won’t reward the companies with the prettiest org charts. It will reward the ones whose structure is deliberately engineered for the output they want to produce.
That’s not theory. That’s execution mastery.
And that is exactly why we should all study Jensen Huang like the great sports stars of our time.
Disclaimer: This article reflects my personal analysis and opinions based on publicly reported information as of March 2026. The CDX Method is a proprietary framework; Warranties of merchantability or other representations of fitness for a particular purpose are disclaimed. Always consult a professional for assistance. This is not investment, legal, or professional advice. Always conduct your own due diligence.
#Leadership #Execution #OrgDesign #NVIDIA #Management #TheCDXMethod