Give Feedback in Front of the Room

At Stripe Sessions in 2024, Huang described a practice most managers avoid: “I give you feedback right there in front of everybody.” His reasoning, in his words: “Learning from mistakes, other people’s mistakes, is the best way to learn.” In our paraphrase, private feedback denies everyone else the chance to learn from the same error.

The other side of the ledger. Former employees told Bloomberg of shouting in meetings and seven-day weeks, and Nvidia declined to comment (reported by Fortune, August 2024). A review of Tae Kim’s The Nvidia Way in The Chip Letter also notes “the public way he gives negative feedback.”

Doesn’t transfer safely, least of all in the UK. Public correction can humiliate as easily as it teaches, and under UK dignity-at-work norms and grievance procedures, criticizing someone in front of colleagues is a real legal and cultural risk. At Nvidia it is cushioned by trust built over years and by equity that made staying worthwhile. Without both, it’s just a public dressing-down.