Aalto Talk with Linus Torvalds [Full-length]

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Why leaders watch it

Torvalds on running a huge open-source project, plus his blunt communication style, a case study in technical leadership and its costs.

Linus Torvalds is interviewed at Aalto University in 2012, followed by an audience Q&A. He talks about Linux, kernel development and the desktop, and about Nvidia support. The Q&A has a well-known moment where he is blunt about Nvidia.

Takeaways

• Direct feedback has benefits and costs
• Maintainer trust scales a large project
• Work on what you care about

Topics: Engineering & technical leadership, Historic leaders & pioneers

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