Inside the inbox of Siemens CEO Roland Busch

Busch treats communication as a tactical exercise rather than a social obligation. His team is trained to mirror this approach, ensuring that messages remain fast and functional. For longer correspondence, the 61-year-old avoids the keyboard entirely, opting to dictate responses while moving through the office. This philosophy extends beyond his inbox into the very structure of his management style.

He has abandoned the corporate tradition of recurring one-on-one meetings with direct reports. Instead, he maintains an open-door policy, allowing subordinates to approach him only when a genuine need arises. Busch argues that he is not there to entertain his staff, nor does he require them to entertain him. His approach is rooted in a Ph.D. in physics, a background he credits for his ability to strip complex corporate problems down to their core variables. Since taking the helm in 2021, this scientific detachment has coincided with a period of growth that saw Siemens shares more than double, cementing its status as Germany’s most valuable company. He is not alone in this shift; Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang similarly bypasses standard one-on-one structures to flatten hierarchy and accelerate decision-making.