Sarah Guo was one of my classmates at Wharton. I really like Sarah and respect h
By Davismsmith · November 13, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Sarah Guo was one of my classmates at Wharton. I really like Sarah and respect her enormously, but I disagree with this take. We shouldn’t expect sainthood, but we should expect integrity.
Nobody expects leaders to be perfect. However, there is an important distinction between making mistakes and engaging in serious ethical violations.
Adam Grant has discussed research showing that leaders (including CEOs, police officers, and investment analysts) who cheat on their spouses are 2–3 times more likely to engage in professional misconduct. While correlation isn’t causation, the connection between personal and professional integrity shouldn’t be dismissed.
The bar for leadership should be high. Extra-marital relationships with subordinates and foreign intelligence operatives aren’t examples of impossibly high standards.
Being exceptionally talented or indispensable shouldn’t exempt anyone from those standards … and Jensen Huang seems like a genuinely good person and is a legend in the tech world that made some short-sided decisions that compromised his ability to positively impact an industry and the world. It’s a sad day for him, his family, and all of us.