Why Big Bets At Work Can Take Stability At Home

Jensen Huang, an anniversary, and the value of co-dependency

Nov 10, 2026

This week marks 21 years married to my wife Jennifer. And while I could spend the whole post raving about how amazing she is, I wanted to talk about the absolute privileges I have because I am married (and married to her in particular).

When you get married, especially somewhat young like we did, not a ton of things are set in place. We’ve both changed careers. We’ve moved more than we can count on two hands. We’ve raised a child and four cats. We’ve bought and sold homes. We’ve dealt with cancer, miscarriages, deaths, and job losses.

I don’t think mid-twenties me had any idea how this stuff would’ve netted out. How could I? I was very dumb and probably dumb lucky.

We’ve not always had our finances in the place we would like but we’ve always had health insurance, a roof over our head, and a way to get to work. After we had a kid, we were even more co-dependent on one another.

That all-in co-dependence has made both of our careers and career transitions easier. It’s easier to stay late, get up early, travel, show up, be prepared, and make big bets on yourself when you know someone is going to be there to pick up your kid when you’re waist deep in muck.

Her regular paycheck, health insurance, and state pension makes it possible to take bigger risks without feeling like you’re teetering off the edge. Her inflexible school schedule also depends on me continuing to be the dad that shows up to chaperone field trips or pick up a kid and her friends.

And what better time to think about the privileges of a stable, co-dependent marriage as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is in the news for an affair that has both national security and economic implications.

Huang is not the first and will not be the last high profile CEO to be unfaithful. But, of course, too much of the discourse is focused on how much his current wife might get in a possible divorce. Not surprisingly, some of it has turned sexist or worse.

I am not here to moralize or cast stones. I am certainly far from perfect. But I can tell you that the value that a marriage of that length provides is worth a lot. Just like with Jeff Bezos’ or Bill Gates’ high profile splits, we hear later how much a good partner contributes.

Knowing that your world outside of work has a partner that cares and can do more than you in parts of your life that you need them is a gift of indescribable value. I’ve had nannies, babysitters, childcare providers, family, friends, and more who have taken on my kid. But there is one person I know who can snap out of whatever they are doing, no matter what, and get shit done for her.

And it goes beyond that to the emotional, financial, and often times work-related tasks that partners inevitably get pulled into.

So I really try not to take it for granted. And I try to give where I can, when I can. Whether it’s mock interviewing her students for a career day or ensuring that she doesn’t have to do anything other than sit down and watch some trashy show when she needs it after work. I know that whenever I need the same, she will deliver too.

That knowledge is a sort of relief all on its own. It’s a privilege that my clients rarely hear about but get to experience in the way I can work.

Not exactly the gushing, lovey anniversary tribute that you might’ve expected. I’ll keep that one to ourselves.

What else is going on this week?

Speechless. Heather Bussing, a lawyer who runs scenarios constantly, says she is still speechless after the election and urges rest and being gentle with yourself. Thoughtful piece on how the election feels.
Why the Blue Wave Will Be Good for Business, AI, and Tech. Josh Bersin says the midterm results shrink the power of MAGA-aligned tech leaders and are likely to be good for business, tech and AI. He is right on the money here.
Your Job Post Says Remote. But Is It Actually Remote?. Katrina Kibben collected LinkedIn commenters’ differing definitions of remote and hybrid and wants posts to spell out where and which days. If it says remote, it better be, or else you’ll get called out.
Grift Me a Break. Madison Butler takes on fluffluencers and manufactured expertise with guest Rhona Barnett-Pierce and says to ask experts for receipts. Asking someone what they have done is a powerful question.
Making Change Stick: Lessons From the Royal British Legion. Mervyn Dinnen and Amanda Arrowsmith share how the Legion paused an HRIS project that was boiling the ocean and rebuilt line manager training from scratch, and the lessons are great.
The Inevitability Trap. Jess Von Bank opens with her regret over giving her kids smartphones and argues AI adoption gets framed as inevitable when leaders should treat it as a design constraint and keep their agency. Loved this one.
AI Avatar Interviewers Weird Candidates Out. I loved Alan Mellish’s HR Tech wrap-up, which advises against building AI avatar interviewers and singles out frontline workforce solutions as the place to be.
What Does a Missed Punch Really Cost?. Nicole Roberts asks after UKG’s Fall Analyst Day whether you measure the full cost of a missed punch, manager and payroll time included, and it’s good reading.
Ranting at a Stranger in the Media Room. Francesca Ranieri ranted at a stranger in the media room at an HR conference, the stranger turned out to be me, and she recommends subscribing to The Turn. Funny story from Unleash.
Six Weeks of Real Work. Gabby Burlacu set out six weeks ago to write one article a week on her Real Work Substack from an organizational psychology perspective. I keep telling you to subscribe to her.
Everyone’s Selling the Same AI. Some friends and I talk about what’s happening in HR tech as Meg Bear and Amy Wilson ask Sarah White, Steve Goldberg, Bonnie Duncan Tinder and me what we would invent for the future of work, live at HR Tech.
After SuiteWorld 26: The Autonomous Suite Is Here. For folks in the NetSuite world, this is for you. Charles Bedard describes NetSuite moving from a system of record to a system of action, with the premium going to partners who own a layer.
Thought Leadership Drives $100 Billion in U.S. Spending. Why Aren’t More Enterprise Leaders Making Time for It?. Donald Thompson makes the case that enterprise leaders should make time for thought leadership and cites IBM research tying it to $100 billion a year in U.S. corporate spending. I agree 100% with him.
What the U.S. Election Means for Talent Acquisition. David Manaster writes that recruiting’s day to day stays the same while state AI hiring laws in Colorado and California matter more now that federal preemption is unlikely. That tracks with me too.
Show Me the Business Result. Kevin Wheeler compares recruiting’s AI rollout to factories that kept the steam-engine layout after electric motors arrived, and it’s wise thinking.
Take the Train. On his way to the ERE summit, Brian Fink writes that recruiting spent a decade trying to automate judgment out, leaving diverse judgment as the only edge. I think seeing beyond patterns and doing weird little human things matters.
My Own Personal AMA. John Sumser asked Gemini about AI governance, data quality, testing and failure rates in HR and annotated its answers with his own commentary. Getting inside his brain has never been so easy.
Asking for Help Takes Courage. Rui Bashir writes that leaders who act as shields slow their company down and should ask for help out loud and put their own mask on first. Asking for help is one of the hardest parts of leading.
Much More Work to Do. Kristy McCann’s roundup covers Canva’s 1,271 layoffs, Google’s AI-or-lose-Search push on schools and 1 in 5 people cut for AI getting asked back, and it’s a good one.
Today’s “Janky” Job Market: An Unfiltered, Unedited Honest Conversation. Wendy Dailey talks today’s job market, AI in hiring, return to office and layoffs with Keirsten Greggs, Tiffany Toussaint and Josh Rock. I love the word janky, plus it’s true.
We Were Told to Stop Talking About It. Robin Schooling lists the federal inclusion rollbacks, from EO 11246 being revoked to the EEOC rescinding its harassment guidance. Yep, exactly. She and Kelley Diona Miller are launching Room for Humans.
Agent Provocateur: Everyone Forgot That Employees Get a Vote. As always, Steve Smith nails it, tracking the AI agent acquisitions from Salesforce, Five9 and CrowdStrike against employee skepticism that he says will be a bigger elephant in every buying committee.
Final Article of 2026: Don’t Finish the Year “Strong”. Finish It “Well”. Yolanda Fraction writes that finishing well matters more than finishing strong and cites burnout. Good advice as we head into the home stretch.
Much of HR & Work Tech Still Charges Per Employee. Jonathan Goodman notes that BLS projects US employment growing 3.5% through 2035 while GDP is expected to grow more than 20%, which puts per-employee pricing under pressure. Quarterly growth at all costs is also to blame for that.