Siemens CEO Roland Busch Answers Emails With Just Two Words

Siemens CEO Roland Busch has built a reputation for brevity, often replying to detailed emails with nothing more than two letters: “OK” or “No.” With roughly 200 emails landing in his inbox daily, Busch works to keep unread messages under 100, a discipline he says helps him retain a clear overview of everything on his plate.

A Culture of Speed

Busch has extended this habit beyond his own inbox, training his broader team to mirror the same terse communication style. When a response requires more detail, he doesn’t sit down to type it out — instead, he dictates messages while walking through the office, prioritizing speed over polish.

This philosophy carries into how Busch manages his leadership team. Rather than holding recurring one-on-one meetings, he operates with an open-door approach, inviting direct reports to reach out only when necessary, whether that means several times a week or just once a month.

From Physics Lab to Corner Office

Busch’s path to the top wasn’t through business school. He joined Siemens in 1994 after earning a Ph.D. in physics and spent his early career researching energy technologies, including solar and offshore wind. He became CEO in 2021, and Siemens shares have more than doubled since, helping the company become Germany’s most valuable and among Europe’s largest by market capitalization. Busch credits his scientific background with teaching him to strip problems down to their essential variables before making decisions.

He isn’t alone among tech and industrial leaders in rethinking traditional management structures. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has similarly done away with one-on-one meetings, instead overseeing around 60 direct reports through collaborative problem-solving sessions rather than a conventional management hierarchy.