N R Narayana Murthy [ Images ], chief mentor and chairman of the board, Infosys Technologies, delivered a pre-commencement lecture at the New York University (Stern School of Business) on May 9. It is a scintillating speech, Murthy speaks about the lessons he learnt from his life and career. We present it for our readers:
Dean Cooley, faculty, staff, distinguished guests, and, most importantly, the graduating class of 2007, it is a great privilege to speak at your commencement ceremonies.
I thank Dean Cooley and Prof Marti Subrahmanyam for their kind invitation. I am exhilarated to be part of such a joyous occasion. Congratulations to you, the class of 2007, on completing an important milestone in your life journey.
After some thought, I have decided to share with you some of my life lessons. I learned these lessons in the context of my early career struggles, a life lived under the influence of sometimes unplanned events which were the crucibles that tempered my character and reshaped my future.
I would like first to share some of these key life events with you, in the hope that these may help you understand my struggles and how chance events and unplanned encounters with influential persons shaped my life and career.
Later, I will share the deeper life lessons that I have learned. My sincere hope is that this sharing will help you see your own trials and tribulations for the hidden blessings they can be.
The first event occurred when I was a graduate student in Control Theory at IIT, Kanpur, in India [ Images ]. At breakfast on a bright Sunday morning in 1968, I had a chance encounter with a famous computer scientist on sabbatical from a well-known US university.
He was discussing exciting new developments in the field of computer science with a large group of students and how such developments would alter our future. He was articulate, passionate and quite convincing. I was hooked. I went straight from breakfast to the library, read four or five papers he had suggested, and left the library determined to study computer science.
Friends, when I look back today at that pivotal meeting, I marvel at how one role model can alter for the better the future of a young student. This experience taught me that valuable advice can sometimes come from an unexpected source, and chance events can sometimes open new doors.
The next event that left an indelible mark on me occurred in 1974. The location: Nis, a border town between former Yugoslavia, now Serbia, and Bulgaria. I was hitchhiking from Paris back to Mysore, India, my home town.
By the time a kind driver dropped me at Nis railway station at 9 p.m. on a Saturday night, the restaurant was closed. So was the bank the next morning, and I could not eat because I had no local money. I slept on the railway platform until 8.30 pm in the night when the Sofia Express pulled in.
The only passengers in my compartment were a girl and a boy. I struck a conversation in French with the young girl. She talked about the travails of living in an iron curtain country, until we were roughly interrupted by some policemen who, I later gathered, were summoned by the young man who thought we were criticising the communist government of Bulgaria.
The girl was led away; my backpack and sleeping bag were confiscated. I was dragged along the platform into a small 8x8 foot room with a cold stone floor and a hole in one corner by way of toilet facilities. I was held in that bitterly cold room without food or water for over 72 hours.
I had lost all hope of ever seeing the outside world again, when the door opened. I was again dragged out unceremoniously, locked up in the guard's compartment on a departing freight train and told that I would be released 20 hours later upon reaching Istanbul. The guard's final words still ring in my ears -- "You are from a friendly country called India and that is why we are letting you go!"
The journey to Istanbul was lonely, and I was starving. This long, lonely, cold journey forced me to deeply rethink my convictions about Communism. Early on a dark Thursday morning, after being hungry for 108 hours, I was purged of any last vestiges of affinity for the Left.
I concluded that entrepreneurship, resulting in large-scale job creation, was the only viable mechanism for eradicating poverty in societies.
Deep in my heart, I always thank the Bulgarian guards for transforming me from a confused Leftist into a determined, compassionate capitalist! Inevitably, this sequence of events led to the eventual founding of Infosys in 1981.
While these first two events were rather fortuitous, the next two, both concerning the Infosys [ Get Quote ] journey, were more planned and profoundly influenced my career trajectory.
On a chilly Saturday morning in winter 1990, five of the seven founders of Infosys met in our small office in a leafy Bangalore suburb. The decision at hand was the possible sale of Infosys for the enticing sum of $1 million. After nine years of toil in the then business-unfriendly India, we were quite happy at the prospect of seeing at least some money.
ALSO READ: The amazing success story of Infosys
I let my younger colleagues talk about their future plans. Discussions about the travails of our journey thus far and our future challenges went on for about four hours. I had not yet spoken a word.
Finally, it was my turn. I spoke about our journey from a small Mumbai [ Images ] apartment in 1981 that had been beset with many challenges, but also of how I believed we were at the darkest hour before the dawn. I then took an audacious step. If they were all bent upon selling the company, I said, I would buy out all my colleagues, though I did not have a cent in my pocket.
There was a stunned silence in the room. My colleagues wondered aloud about my foolhardiness. But I remained silent. However, after an hour of my arguments, my colleagues changed their minds to my way of thinking. I urged them that if we wanted to create a great company, we should be optimistic and confident. They have more than lived up to their promise of that day.
In the seventeen years since that day, Infosys has grown to revenues in excess of $3.0 billion, a net income of more than $800 million and a market capitalisation of more than $28 billion, 28,000 times richer than the offer of $1 million on that day.
In the process, Infosys has created more than 70,000 well-paying jobs, 2,000-plus dollar-millionaires and 20,000-plus rupee millionaires.
A final story: On a hot summer morning in 1995, a Fortune-10 corporation had sequestered all their Indian software vendors, including Infosys, in different rooms at the Taj Residency hotel in Bangalore so that the vendors could not communicate with one another. This customer's propensity for tough negotiations was well-known. Our team was very nervous.
First of all, with revenues of only around $5 million, we were minnows compared to the customer.
Second, this customer contributed fully 25% of our revenues. The loss of this business would potentially devastate our recently-listed company.
Third, the customer's negotiation style was very aggressive. The customer team would go from room to room, get the best terms out of each vendor and then pit one vendor against the other. This went on for several rounds. Our various arguments why a fair price -- one that allowed us to invest in good people, R&D, infrastructure, technology and training -- was actually in their interest failed to cut any ice with the customer.
By 5 p.m. on the last day, we had to make a decision right on the spot whether to accept the customer's terms or to walk out.
All eyes were on me as I mulled over the decision. I closed my eyes, and reflected upon our journey until then. Through many a tough call, we had always thought about the long-term interests of Infosys. I communicated clearly to the customer team that we could not accept their terms, since it could well lead us to letting them down later. But I promised a smooth, professional transition to a vendor of customer's choice.
This was a turning point for Infosys.
Subsequently, we created a Risk Mitigation Council which ensured that we would never again depend too much on any one client, technology, country, application area or key employee. The crisis was a blessing in disguise. Today, Infosys has a sound de-risking strategy that has stabilised its revenues and profits.
I want to share with you, next, the life lessons these events have taught me.
1. I will begin with the importance of learning from experience. It is less important, I believe, where you start. It is more important how and what you learn. If the quality of the learning is high, the development gradient is steep, and, given time, you can find yourself in a previously unattainable place. I believe the Infosys story is living proof of this.
Learning from experience, however, can be complicated. It can be much more difficult to learn from success than from failure. If we fail, we think carefully about the precise cause. Success can indiscriminately reinforce all our prior actions.
2. A second theme concerns the power of chance events. As I think across a wide variety of settings in my life, I am struck by the incredible role played by the interplay of chance events with intentional choices. While the turning points themselves are indeed often fortuitous, how we respond to them is anything but so. It is this very quality of how we respond systematically to chance events that is crucial.
3. Of course, the mindset one works with is also quite critical. As recent work by the psychologist, Carol Dweck, has shown, it matters greatly whether one believes in ability as inherent or that it can be developed. Put simply, the former view, a fixed mindset, creates a tendency to avoid challenges, to ignore useful negative feedback and leads such people to plateau early and not achieve their full potential.
The latter view, a growth mindset, leads to a tendency to embrace challenges, to learn from criticism and such people reach ever higher levels of achievement (Krakovsky, 2007: page 48).
4. The fourth theme is a cornerstone of the Indian spiritual tradition: self-knowledge. Indeed, the highest form of knowledge, it is said, is self-knowledge. I believe this greater awareness and knowledge of oneself is what ultimately helps develop a more grounded belief in oneself, courage, determination, and, above all, humility, all qualities which enable one to wear one's success with dignity and grace.
Based on my life experiences, I can assert that it is this belief in learning from experience, a growth mindset, the power of chance events, and self-reflection that have helped me grow to the present.
Back in the 1960s, the odds of my being in front of you today would have been zero. Yet here I stand before you! With every successive step, the odds kept changing in my favour, and it is these life lessons that made all the difference.
My young friends, I would like to end with some words of advice. Do you believe that your future is pre-ordained, and is already set? Or, do you believe that your future is yet to be written and that it will depend upon the sometimes fortuitous events?
Do you believe that these events can provide turning points to which you will respond with your energy and enthusiasm? Do you believe that you will learn from these events and that you will reflect on your setbacks? Do you believe that you will examine your successes with even greater care?
I hope you believe that the future will be shaped by several turning points with great learning opportunities. In fact, this is the path I have walked to much advantage.
A final word: When, one day, you have made your mark on the world, remember that, in the ultimate analysis, we are all mere temporary custodians of the wealth we generate, whether it be financial, intellectual, or emotional. The best use of all your wealth is to share it with those less fortunate.
I believe that we have all at some time eaten the fruit from trees that we did not plant. In the fullness of time, when it is our turn to give, it behooves us in turn to plant gardens that we may never eat the fruit of, which will largely benefit generations to come. I believe this is our sacred responsibility, one that I hope you will shoulder in time.
Thank you for your patience. Go forth and embrace your future with open arms, and pursue enthusiastically your own life journey of discovery!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Narayana Murthy and the art of hypocritical writing
NR Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies is a highly accomplished man. Even before the dawn of outsourcing, Narayana Murthy set up his own company with $250, with a bunch of friends from office. The start-up went on become one of the largest (not the largest - that slot goes to TCS) IT service companies in India. Its name has spread far and wide. Narayana Murthy and Infosys have won bagfuls of awards for performance. Infosys has fared well on the stock markets too, with rags to-riches-stories of Infosys drivers earning lakhs courtesy stock options. All in all, it's a glory story. Infosys, the shining pinnacle of Indian corporate excellence. No one disputes any of this.
With success comes hubris. This seems to have hit Narayana Murthy too. One tends to believe that I am successful, so I must be right. Whatever I think, say and do must be right. Because if I was wrong, I couldn't be successful, my company couldn't be successful. So I am right. Since I am right, I have a right to lecture the world on what is right. So I write, even if it is trite.
Sorry for the forced rhyming, but this writer, for whom stock option millions is still the stuff of dotcom legend, was taken aback by Narayana Murthy's ramblings the latest issue of Smart Manager, reproduced by Rediff.com on its website. Narayana Murthy's article exposes his ignorance and arrogance rather than throwing any fresh light on leadership or corporate management.
The article is pompously named the Essence of Leadership. I don’t blame Narayana Murthy for the pomp. It could have been given by any well-meaning sub-editor who holds Murthy in awe. Or by the man (or woman) who arranged Murthy's article who wanted to keep him pleased, with an eye on Narayana Murthy's next gospel.
The article starts off with describing and defining leadership, mostly quoted from Robert F Kennedy and Mahatma Gandhi. Sadly, Murthy has started off on a wrong note. Many of the quotes in his article apply equally well to leaders of the wrong sort, which Narayana Murthy has in mind.
"Leadership is about raising the aspirations of followers and enthusing people with a desire to reach for the stars. For instance, Mahatma Gandhi created a vision for Independence in India and raised the aspirations of our people."
So did Hitler. Or Chairman Mao. It is good to use Mahatma's name to justify your statement. Only, when you take Mahatma's name, be careful that what is attributed to Mahatma or Martin Luther King does not apply equally well to Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin. But it does. Good leaders need not always be impeccable men. While trying to describe leadership, Narayana Murthy unknowingly puts leaders of all kinds into the same box. He fails to distinguish the ideal leadership strain that he has in mind, thereby putting great names to disrepute.
Leadership is about making people say, 'I will walk on water for you.' It is about creating a worthy dream and helping people achieve it.
The statement sounds more out of the Bible than from a corporate leader. Murthy to walk to water? These days, no one walks on water, except small water-borne insects. But surely that is not what Narayana Murthy has in mind. What he has in mind is that the leader should set worthy goals and get his team to reach them. Narayana Murthy uses the wrong metaphor of walking on water. Let me rephrase it for Murthy: The leader should set worthy, practical goals and take the initiative in that journey. That is not walking on water. Suppose Narayana Murthy tells his staffers tomorrow like this: "Guys, we planning to be a $100 billion company next year. Follow me." Almost as tough as walking on water, I think. Staffers will follow him only till the gate and then flee. They would be convinced that Narayana Murthy has finally lost it.
As this writer sees it: Do not think your employees are dumb and can be taken for any ride (even water ride). They are also thinking individuals. Set practical goals, not dreams that others of relatively less genius can relate to.
"A leader has to raise the confidence of followers. He should make them understand that tough times are a part of life and that they will come out better at the end of it. He has to sustain their hope, and their energy levels to handle the difficult days."
This statement is fine, since so long, the going has been good for Infosys. Infosys never had two face two successive fiscals of poor revenues to put Murthy's above statement to test. If Infosys had been significantly hit by the dotcom bust and the meltdown, would Murthy have been able to keep paying his employees the same salaries of the previous days and keep their morale high? I doubt it. Narayana Murthy's gospel is all fine, since he or Infosys never had to go through the pangs of restructuring and reviving an old economy industry like steel or automobiles. Things have been good, so I can preach! Normal people and normal companies do not always come out better at the end of tough times - often, they come out pauper.
Murthy moves to Winston Churchill to establish his case of leaders surviving adversities:
There is no better example of this than Winston Churchill. His courageous leadership as prime minister for Great Britain successfully led the British people from the brink of defeat during World War II. He raised his people's hopes with the words, 'These are not dark days; these are great days -- the greatest days our country has ever lived.'
Winston Churchill successfully led Great Britain through World War II. Unlike Murthy's, Churchill's leadership, oratory and depth of knowledge was indisputable. His greatness assumes a bigger glory when we realise that he was under constant attack by critics from within and without, with doubters and warmongers all around. And yet he pulled off the war.
The mistake is in attributing Churchill's leadership and greatness to his success. In 1942, the Wehrmacht (German air force) pounded British cities with bombs. Japan was running amuck in East Asia. France had capitulated in the first year of the War and De Gaulle had fled. Try as they might, the German navy could not cross the English Channel. Meanwhile, Nazis built the "Atlantic Wall", a huge fence on the European coast controlled by Nazis to prevent Allied landings. How did they fail then?
Nazis failed due to a multitude of reasons, and the last reason was Winston Churchill. (1) With Pearl Harbor, the US entered the World War and the tide changed in favour of Allies. (2) Hitler, drunk with power, embarked on Operation Barbarossa, the biggest ever military campaign in history to conquer Soviet Union. About 25 million Russians died, but Stalin took the war all the way from Stalingrad (obviously!) to Nazi Berlin. Hitler's forces bled and perished in Eastern Europe. There were no German resources left to fight Britain. (3) And with Normandy, the Europe's liberation began, and this was led by the American Eisenhower.
Winston Churchill was a great war-time leader of Britain. But it was not his leadership that won the war. Narayana Murthy falters in attributing Britain's victory to Churchill's leadership in adversity. Besides, many of Churchill's war-time (and post-war) activities have been called into question. When the war began, the Allies were against bombing civilian settlements in war countries. But once the heat built up, the Royal Air Force started destroying German towns with the same brutality as the Wehrmacht. Also, post-war, the role of Churchill and MI-5 in staging the coup of Iran (which dispatched millions of Iranians to the dictatorial clutches of the Shah) is no shining examples which mentor Narayana Murthy should be teaching his wards, right?
Never is strong leadership more needed than in a crisis. In the words of Seneca, the Greek philosopher, 'Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men.'
This is correct. Jai Murthy. I am waiting for a crisis for Infosys to prove that Narayana Murthy meant what he said.
Compliance to a value system creates the environment for people to have high aspirations, self esteem, belief in fundamental values, confidence in the future and the enthusiasm necessary to take up apparently difficult tasks. Leaders have to walk the talk and demonstrate their commitment to a value system.
Excellent. One wonders why then there was no Phaneesh-Murthy like scandals in Tata Consultancy, Wipro or Satyam. I fail to understand the "values", "esteem" and "aspirations" that Narayana Murthy talks about. Compliance to a value system may have its positives, but if you end up with a a jerk in your company, its your mess to handle, boss.
As Mahatma Gandhi said, 'We must become the change we want to see in the world.' Leaders have to prove their belief in sacrifice and hard work. Such behavior will enthuse the employees to make bigger sacrifices. It will help win the team's confidence, help leaders become credible, and help create trust in their ideas.
Back to poor Mahatma. He would be turning in his grave hearing all this, had he not been cremated. Please note Murthy's "sacrifice" part. We will come to it soon.
Investors respect such organisations. Investors understand that the business will have good times and bad times. What they want you to do is to level with them at all times. They want you to disclose bad news on a proactive basis. At Infosys, our philosophy has always been, 'When in doubt, disclose.'
Narayana Murthy here is talking only about long-term investors, like himself. The rule is not applicable to small investors who want to buy, sell, move on. Perfect investors know that for a good company, good times will follow bad times. Most ignorant investors - the type who sell in a panic when prices are falling - don't have a clue, and there are many of them around. Good times and bad times are not the sole criteria defining the Infosys stock price. Global market indices like that of the Nasdaq have a significant bearing on Infosys's day-to-day stock price. Narayana Murthy is more aware of this than you or me, but he refuses to disclose that!
At Infosys, we have consistently adopted transparency and disclosure standards even before law mandated it. In 1995, Infosys suffered losses in the secondary market. Under Indian GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles), we were not required to make this information public. Nevertheless, we published this information in our annual report.
Meaning: We are holier than thou. And since we are the best and me its chief mentor and chairman, I am right. Better listen to me.
Now comes an interesting note. Please recall the sacrifice part in an earlier para while reading this. Read carefully, read every word:
We have gone towards excessive salaries and options for senior management staff.....Senior management compensation should be reviewed by the compensation committee of the board, which should consist only of independent directors. Further, this should be approved by the shareholders. I've been asked, 'How can I ask for limits on senior management compensation when I have made millions myself?' A fair question with a straightforward answer: two systems are at play here. One is that of the promoter, the risk taker and the capital markets; and the other is that of professional management and compensation structures.
And the reason?
One cannot mix these two distinct systems, otherwise entrepreneurship will be stifled, and no new companies will come up, no progress can take place. At the same time, there has to be fairness in compensation: there cannot be huge differences between the top most and the bottom rung of the ladder within an organisation.
Translation: Senior management's salaries will be always under the microscope. Not mine. I am part of a different system and a higher caste of entrepreneurs. Let the shudras be shudras and the brahmins be brahmins. If you challenge my millions, entrepreneurship will crash-land, companies won't start up, progress will be stunted. I'm keeping my millions not for myself, but in the larger interest of entrepreneurship and economy. The above-mentioned sacrifice does not apply when I am the promoter. I am the Essence of Leadership.
In conclusion, keep in mind two Sanskrit sentences: Sathyannasti Paro Dharma (there is no dharma greater than adherence to truth); and Satyameva jayate (truth alone triumphs). Let these be your motto for good corporate leadership.
May be few Infoscions (what a lovely name!) know that Narayana Murthy worked with a little-known company called Patni Computer Systems before he started Infosys. Narayana Murthy did not just leave Patni, he practically broke its back by walking away with its best talent. Rajendra Patni took long to recover from the shock.
Swearing by truth an is excellent parting shot, Mr Murthy. A few years back, I had to go to a wicked real estate agent, whose office had a poster which loudly proclaimed HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY. He advised me on ways by which I could hoodwink the house-owner. Narayana Murthy's article on the essence of leadership reads just like that.
With success comes hubris. This seems to have hit Narayana Murthy too. One tends to believe that I am successful, so I must be right. Whatever I think, say and do must be right. Because if I was wrong, I couldn't be successful, my company couldn't be successful. So I am right. Since I am right, I have a right to lecture the world on what is right. So I write, even if it is trite.
Sorry for the forced rhyming, but this writer, for whom stock option millions is still the stuff of dotcom legend, was taken aback by Narayana Murthy's ramblings the latest issue of Smart Manager, reproduced by Rediff.com on its website. Narayana Murthy's article exposes his ignorance and arrogance rather than throwing any fresh light on leadership or corporate management.
The article is pompously named the Essence of Leadership. I don’t blame Narayana Murthy for the pomp. It could have been given by any well-meaning sub-editor who holds Murthy in awe. Or by the man (or woman) who arranged Murthy's article who wanted to keep him pleased, with an eye on Narayana Murthy's next gospel.
The article starts off with describing and defining leadership, mostly quoted from Robert F Kennedy and Mahatma Gandhi. Sadly, Murthy has started off on a wrong note. Many of the quotes in his article apply equally well to leaders of the wrong sort, which Narayana Murthy has in mind.
"Leadership is about raising the aspirations of followers and enthusing people with a desire to reach for the stars. For instance, Mahatma Gandhi created a vision for Independence in India and raised the aspirations of our people."
So did Hitler. Or Chairman Mao. It is good to use Mahatma's name to justify your statement. Only, when you take Mahatma's name, be careful that what is attributed to Mahatma or Martin Luther King does not apply equally well to Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin. But it does. Good leaders need not always be impeccable men. While trying to describe leadership, Narayana Murthy unknowingly puts leaders of all kinds into the same box. He fails to distinguish the ideal leadership strain that he has in mind, thereby putting great names to disrepute.
Leadership is about making people say, 'I will walk on water for you.' It is about creating a worthy dream and helping people achieve it.
The statement sounds more out of the Bible than from a corporate leader. Murthy to walk to water? These days, no one walks on water, except small water-borne insects. But surely that is not what Narayana Murthy has in mind. What he has in mind is that the leader should set worthy goals and get his team to reach them. Narayana Murthy uses the wrong metaphor of walking on water. Let me rephrase it for Murthy: The leader should set worthy, practical goals and take the initiative in that journey. That is not walking on water. Suppose Narayana Murthy tells his staffers tomorrow like this: "Guys, we planning to be a $100 billion company next year. Follow me." Almost as tough as walking on water, I think. Staffers will follow him only till the gate and then flee. They would be convinced that Narayana Murthy has finally lost it.
As this writer sees it: Do not think your employees are dumb and can be taken for any ride (even water ride). They are also thinking individuals. Set practical goals, not dreams that others of relatively less genius can relate to.
"A leader has to raise the confidence of followers. He should make them understand that tough times are a part of life and that they will come out better at the end of it. He has to sustain their hope, and their energy levels to handle the difficult days."
This statement is fine, since so long, the going has been good for Infosys. Infosys never had two face two successive fiscals of poor revenues to put Murthy's above statement to test. If Infosys had been significantly hit by the dotcom bust and the meltdown, would Murthy have been able to keep paying his employees the same salaries of the previous days and keep their morale high? I doubt it. Narayana Murthy's gospel is all fine, since he or Infosys never had to go through the pangs of restructuring and reviving an old economy industry like steel or automobiles. Things have been good, so I can preach! Normal people and normal companies do not always come out better at the end of tough times - often, they come out pauper.
Murthy moves to Winston Churchill to establish his case of leaders surviving adversities:
There is no better example of this than Winston Churchill. His courageous leadership as prime minister for Great Britain successfully led the British people from the brink of defeat during World War II. He raised his people's hopes with the words, 'These are not dark days; these are great days -- the greatest days our country has ever lived.'
Winston Churchill successfully led Great Britain through World War II. Unlike Murthy's, Churchill's leadership, oratory and depth of knowledge was indisputable. His greatness assumes a bigger glory when we realise that he was under constant attack by critics from within and without, with doubters and warmongers all around. And yet he pulled off the war.
The mistake is in attributing Churchill's leadership and greatness to his success. In 1942, the Wehrmacht (German air force) pounded British cities with bombs. Japan was running amuck in East Asia. France had capitulated in the first year of the War and De Gaulle had fled. Try as they might, the German navy could not cross the English Channel. Meanwhile, Nazis built the "Atlantic Wall", a huge fence on the European coast controlled by Nazis to prevent Allied landings. How did they fail then?
Nazis failed due to a multitude of reasons, and the last reason was Winston Churchill. (1) With Pearl Harbor, the US entered the World War and the tide changed in favour of Allies. (2) Hitler, drunk with power, embarked on Operation Barbarossa, the biggest ever military campaign in history to conquer Soviet Union. About 25 million Russians died, but Stalin took the war all the way from Stalingrad (obviously!) to Nazi Berlin. Hitler's forces bled and perished in Eastern Europe. There were no German resources left to fight Britain. (3) And with Normandy, the Europe's liberation began, and this was led by the American Eisenhower.
Winston Churchill was a great war-time leader of Britain. But it was not his leadership that won the war. Narayana Murthy falters in attributing Britain's victory to Churchill's leadership in adversity. Besides, many of Churchill's war-time (and post-war) activities have been called into question. When the war began, the Allies were against bombing civilian settlements in war countries. But once the heat built up, the Royal Air Force started destroying German towns with the same brutality as the Wehrmacht. Also, post-war, the role of Churchill and MI-5 in staging the coup of Iran (which dispatched millions of Iranians to the dictatorial clutches of the Shah) is no shining examples which mentor Narayana Murthy should be teaching his wards, right?
Never is strong leadership more needed than in a crisis. In the words of Seneca, the Greek philosopher, 'Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men.'
This is correct. Jai Murthy. I am waiting for a crisis for Infosys to prove that Narayana Murthy meant what he said.
Compliance to a value system creates the environment for people to have high aspirations, self esteem, belief in fundamental values, confidence in the future and the enthusiasm necessary to take up apparently difficult tasks. Leaders have to walk the talk and demonstrate their commitment to a value system.
Excellent. One wonders why then there was no Phaneesh-Murthy like scandals in Tata Consultancy, Wipro or Satyam. I fail to understand the "values", "esteem" and "aspirations" that Narayana Murthy talks about. Compliance to a value system may have its positives, but if you end up with a a jerk in your company, its your mess to handle, boss.
As Mahatma Gandhi said, 'We must become the change we want to see in the world.' Leaders have to prove their belief in sacrifice and hard work. Such behavior will enthuse the employees to make bigger sacrifices. It will help win the team's confidence, help leaders become credible, and help create trust in their ideas.
Back to poor Mahatma. He would be turning in his grave hearing all this, had he not been cremated. Please note Murthy's "sacrifice" part. We will come to it soon.
Investors respect such organisations. Investors understand that the business will have good times and bad times. What they want you to do is to level with them at all times. They want you to disclose bad news on a proactive basis. At Infosys, our philosophy has always been, 'When in doubt, disclose.'
Narayana Murthy here is talking only about long-term investors, like himself. The rule is not applicable to small investors who want to buy, sell, move on. Perfect investors know that for a good company, good times will follow bad times. Most ignorant investors - the type who sell in a panic when prices are falling - don't have a clue, and there are many of them around. Good times and bad times are not the sole criteria defining the Infosys stock price. Global market indices like that of the Nasdaq have a significant bearing on Infosys's day-to-day stock price. Narayana Murthy is more aware of this than you or me, but he refuses to disclose that!
At Infosys, we have consistently adopted transparency and disclosure standards even before law mandated it. In 1995, Infosys suffered losses in the secondary market. Under Indian GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles), we were not required to make this information public. Nevertheless, we published this information in our annual report.
Meaning: We are holier than thou. And since we are the best and me its chief mentor and chairman, I am right. Better listen to me.
Now comes an interesting note. Please recall the sacrifice part in an earlier para while reading this. Read carefully, read every word:
We have gone towards excessive salaries and options for senior management staff.....Senior management compensation should be reviewed by the compensation committee of the board, which should consist only of independent directors. Further, this should be approved by the shareholders. I've been asked, 'How can I ask for limits on senior management compensation when I have made millions myself?' A fair question with a straightforward answer: two systems are at play here. One is that of the promoter, the risk taker and the capital markets; and the other is that of professional management and compensation structures.
And the reason?
One cannot mix these two distinct systems, otherwise entrepreneurship will be stifled, and no new companies will come up, no progress can take place. At the same time, there has to be fairness in compensation: there cannot be huge differences between the top most and the bottom rung of the ladder within an organisation.
Translation: Senior management's salaries will be always under the microscope. Not mine. I am part of a different system and a higher caste of entrepreneurs. Let the shudras be shudras and the brahmins be brahmins. If you challenge my millions, entrepreneurship will crash-land, companies won't start up, progress will be stunted. I'm keeping my millions not for myself, but in the larger interest of entrepreneurship and economy. The above-mentioned sacrifice does not apply when I am the promoter. I am the Essence of Leadership.
In conclusion, keep in mind two Sanskrit sentences: Sathyannasti Paro Dharma (there is no dharma greater than adherence to truth); and Satyameva jayate (truth alone triumphs). Let these be your motto for good corporate leadership.
May be few Infoscions (what a lovely name!) know that Narayana Murthy worked with a little-known company called Patni Computer Systems before he started Infosys. Narayana Murthy did not just leave Patni, he practically broke its back by walking away with its best talent. Rajendra Patni took long to recover from the shock.
Swearing by truth an is excellent parting shot, Mr Murthy. A few years back, I had to go to a wicked real estate agent, whose office had a poster which loudly proclaimed HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY. He advised me on ways by which I could hoodwink the house-owner. Narayana Murthy's article on the essence of leadership reads just like that.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
"When you love your work, success follows"
For Dharti Desai, the founder and CEO of Finewinesnmore, a Mumbai-based food and beverage management company, success lies in being more innovative, qualitative and credible. "I get motivated by new ideas and concepts, which I always try to develop and implement," she explains.
Born in Ahmedabad, Dharti lived briefly in Chennai before her father Arvind Desai got transferred to Mumbai where she graduated in psychology from Wilson College. She later went on to join Alliance Francaise as a faculty member in 1987.
It was her brother Mehul and former student Wesley Wood (who was to become her business partner later) that introduced Dharti to the world of business. "I never thought that I would enter the business domain, but I knew that I was up to any challenge and I could motivate myself to achieve anything that I wanted to," she recalls.
A quick diploma in direct marketing from New York followed and Dharti was ready to launch her maiden business venture, Marketing Capital Company India (MCCI), a direct marketing consulting company in 1997 with seed money of USD 25,000.
Her first success paved the way for the launch of her second venture, Regency Direct Marketing India, an alternative media company, which introduced a clutch of new marketing concepts in the country at a time when the concept of direct marketing was yet to catch on.
Her latest project, Finewinesnmore was launched in 2007. With a distribution network spread across key Indian cities, the company specializes in various segments that include marketing and brand building for food and beverage products, building equity for F&B companies, conceptualizing launches, creating events and promotions for brands and F&B companies and undertaking the import, marketing and distribution of F&B products.
"I got introduced to wine culture and its business potential when I went on an official trip to France," says Dharti. It was an idea that appealed to her instantly, although she had to wait for a long seventeen years before executing it.
"Finewinesnmore is a long term investment and business is growing at a rapid pace," she adds. "It should take us about five years before we start generating profits." While the current turnover of her F&B venture is approximately Rs. 5.5 crore, the overall group turnover stands at an impressive Rs. 45 crore.
On the personal and family front, Dharti admits that her hectic work schedules key her away from home for long durations. "Travel is usually hectic since we have offices in New York, Canada and London, so I don't get much leisure time," she reveals. "But I do take time out to ensure that I spend maximum possible time with my daughter."
So what is her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs who might want to replicate her success in the business world? "I'd just like to tell them that there is no short cut to success. It's sheer hard work and determination that decides your fate. And when you love what you do success follows."
Born in Ahmedabad, Dharti lived briefly in Chennai before her father Arvind Desai got transferred to Mumbai where she graduated in psychology from Wilson College. She later went on to join Alliance Francaise as a faculty member in 1987.
It was her brother Mehul and former student Wesley Wood (who was to become her business partner later) that introduced Dharti to the world of business. "I never thought that I would enter the business domain, but I knew that I was up to any challenge and I could motivate myself to achieve anything that I wanted to," she recalls.
A quick diploma in direct marketing from New York followed and Dharti was ready to launch her maiden business venture, Marketing Capital Company India (MCCI), a direct marketing consulting company in 1997 with seed money of USD 25,000.
Her first success paved the way for the launch of her second venture, Regency Direct Marketing India, an alternative media company, which introduced a clutch of new marketing concepts in the country at a time when the concept of direct marketing was yet to catch on.
Her latest project, Finewinesnmore was launched in 2007. With a distribution network spread across key Indian cities, the company specializes in various segments that include marketing and brand building for food and beverage products, building equity for F&B companies, conceptualizing launches, creating events and promotions for brands and F&B companies and undertaking the import, marketing and distribution of F&B products.
"I got introduced to wine culture and its business potential when I went on an official trip to France," says Dharti. It was an idea that appealed to her instantly, although she had to wait for a long seventeen years before executing it.
"Finewinesnmore is a long term investment and business is growing at a rapid pace," she adds. "It should take us about five years before we start generating profits." While the current turnover of her F&B venture is approximately Rs. 5.5 crore, the overall group turnover stands at an impressive Rs. 45 crore.
On the personal and family front, Dharti admits that her hectic work schedules key her away from home for long durations. "Travel is usually hectic since we have offices in New York, Canada and London, so I don't get much leisure time," she reveals. "But I do take time out to ensure that I spend maximum possible time with my daughter."
So what is her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs who might want to replicate her success in the business world? "I'd just like to tell them that there is no short cut to success. It's sheer hard work and determination that decides your fate. And when you love what you do success follows."
Monday, September 22, 2008
The 80/20 Success Secret
Have you ever wondered if there was a way to apply the Pareto Principle or 80/20 Principle to success or rather becoming successful?
If you’re a reader of the Conquer Your Adversity Newsletter, then you should be familiar with this principle from my article Achievement & Happiness The 80/20 Way – www.rasheedali.com/8020.htm.
In the past what I’ve found is that most people don’t hesitate to point fingers at whom or what they think is responsible for their failures or lack of success in life. The problem is that they never look in the mirror and see that the main problem is them! At that time I believed that there were two groups of people, successful and unsuccessful.
Recently however I came across another group of people who all want to be successful and realize that they must change. When they ask me how they can achieve success, I give them all the same answer. I’ll get to that in a minute, because first I want to tell you why.
When I was a baby about two months old, my parents sent me from New York to the island of Trinidad to live with my Grandparents. During those early years, I was given love, attention and I was taught the importance of hard work. You see, my Grandfather and all of his brothers for that matter were entrepreneurs. My Grandpa was a poultry farmer. He raised chickens! Not just any chickens, but the best tasting, natural chickens around. Not just a few chickens, but anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000 at a time. Not only that but, he still worked at his job as the Pay Master at the Texaco oil refinery.
To little me, Grandpa was the strongest man in the world and he knew more than anyone!
Over the course of the years I would be taken away from my Grandparents many times by my parents, only to be sent back again. Each time I would learn something new. I learned how to run a poultry farm and business, how to handle money, how to deal with customers, how to give a quality product, the importance of learning by doing and most of all what I tell my clients and people wanting success.
No, I’m not going to tell you yet! ;-P
Fast forward to 1990-91 and I’m homeless on the streets of New York. Of course my Grandparents had no control over these events. It was my parents that left me no choice.
There I was a skinny 15 year old with big glasses, no money and nowhere to live. I had lived in fear for so long in the past that I looked like an owl on crack!
I had no clue what to do and I had already been on the streets a couple of weeks. I was hungry, cold (it was winter) and tired.
As events unfolded a severe beating by four 22 year olds, put me in the hospital near death and I would later end back up on the streets. This time I had learned of other options by listening to other peoples’ conversations. I had heard about a place called Covenant House in Manhattan. It took another week or two before I ended up there because I didn’t trust that anyone would help me.
The people at Covenant House took me in one cold night and gave me a place to stay, warm food and counseling.
There I met a 17 year old guy who would become a big brother to me for a short while. His name was Tony. He as it turned out was in New York because he was running from some very dangerous people in Florida who killed his friend. Tony was a “metal-head,” head-banger type but was a good natured person and took a liking to me. He protected me from the other kids who were in gangs and were too rough and dangerous for me to handle at the time. He taught me how to fight, how to think on the streets, and the same thing my Grandpa taught me.
No, I won’t tell yet.
That wasn’t the end of my street life but, that’s where we’ll fast forward into my twenties.
My mind had been made up since I was a child that deep down I really wanted my own business. So I went out and did what any normal kid would do. Go to college right!
Well after a few semesters, I realized that I was really in for long frustrating hours of studying things that I did not want to know. So while still in school and working full time, I started to self educate myself with self improvement books and business books.
Needless to say, I got hooked! Paycheck after paycheck I would buy and read these books, online and offline. Wow I really knew my stuff I would think. Then I would look at successful businesses and say, “Wow I still have a lot of learning to do.”
So I started out on my quest to conquer the internet. Or so I thought.
Again, I purchased and read many e-books, reports, software and services and began to build a small income online.
Thousands of dollars and some successful clients later, I had very little to show for it other than all of the money I made others and the vast library of knowledge in my head. (I do have a pretty big head -- ;-D )
Then one day through world famous internet marketer Jo Han Mok, I met Mike Litman, then Dave Lakhani & Steve Watts. Mike and Dave showed me what I was doing wrong, what I needed to know and how to apply it. Most importantly they showed me what they had learned so that I didn’t have to make the same mistakes.
If you fast forward to today you will see that I’m now helping change the lives of thousands of people around the world through my newsletter and coaching system and I’m well on my way to creating millions in revenue!
So what’s the 80/20 Success Secret?
It is….
Finding Mentors or Coaches and learning everything you can from them.
Instead of investing tons of money in books and programs, invest in a mentor and you WILL get the most results!
Remember very few actions generate the most results. Instead of taking 1,000 steps and many years to achieve your desired results, you’re only taking one step and very little time to get your results this way. You’re paying them to learn from their mistakes and successes.
No book or program can offer you that!
So when you’re ready to leap towards success and break through your obstacles, seek out your mentor(s) and be ready for anything!
If you’re a reader of the Conquer Your Adversity Newsletter, then you should be familiar with this principle from my article Achievement & Happiness The 80/20 Way – www.rasheedali.com/8020.htm.
In the past what I’ve found is that most people don’t hesitate to point fingers at whom or what they think is responsible for their failures or lack of success in life. The problem is that they never look in the mirror and see that the main problem is them! At that time I believed that there were two groups of people, successful and unsuccessful.
Recently however I came across another group of people who all want to be successful and realize that they must change. When they ask me how they can achieve success, I give them all the same answer. I’ll get to that in a minute, because first I want to tell you why.
When I was a baby about two months old, my parents sent me from New York to the island of Trinidad to live with my Grandparents. During those early years, I was given love, attention and I was taught the importance of hard work. You see, my Grandfather and all of his brothers for that matter were entrepreneurs. My Grandpa was a poultry farmer. He raised chickens! Not just any chickens, but the best tasting, natural chickens around. Not just a few chickens, but anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000 at a time. Not only that but, he still worked at his job as the Pay Master at the Texaco oil refinery.
To little me, Grandpa was the strongest man in the world and he knew more than anyone!
Over the course of the years I would be taken away from my Grandparents many times by my parents, only to be sent back again. Each time I would learn something new. I learned how to run a poultry farm and business, how to handle money, how to deal with customers, how to give a quality product, the importance of learning by doing and most of all what I tell my clients and people wanting success.
No, I’m not going to tell you yet! ;-P
Fast forward to 1990-91 and I’m homeless on the streets of New York. Of course my Grandparents had no control over these events. It was my parents that left me no choice.
There I was a skinny 15 year old with big glasses, no money and nowhere to live. I had lived in fear for so long in the past that I looked like an owl on crack!
I had no clue what to do and I had already been on the streets a couple of weeks. I was hungry, cold (it was winter) and tired.
As events unfolded a severe beating by four 22 year olds, put me in the hospital near death and I would later end back up on the streets. This time I had learned of other options by listening to other peoples’ conversations. I had heard about a place called Covenant House in Manhattan. It took another week or two before I ended up there because I didn’t trust that anyone would help me.
The people at Covenant House took me in one cold night and gave me a place to stay, warm food and counseling.
There I met a 17 year old guy who would become a big brother to me for a short while. His name was Tony. He as it turned out was in New York because he was running from some very dangerous people in Florida who killed his friend. Tony was a “metal-head,” head-banger type but was a good natured person and took a liking to me. He protected me from the other kids who were in gangs and were too rough and dangerous for me to handle at the time. He taught me how to fight, how to think on the streets, and the same thing my Grandpa taught me.
No, I won’t tell yet.
That wasn’t the end of my street life but, that’s where we’ll fast forward into my twenties.
My mind had been made up since I was a child that deep down I really wanted my own business. So I went out and did what any normal kid would do. Go to college right!
Well after a few semesters, I realized that I was really in for long frustrating hours of studying things that I did not want to know. So while still in school and working full time, I started to self educate myself with self improvement books and business books.
Needless to say, I got hooked! Paycheck after paycheck I would buy and read these books, online and offline. Wow I really knew my stuff I would think. Then I would look at successful businesses and say, “Wow I still have a lot of learning to do.”
So I started out on my quest to conquer the internet. Or so I thought.
Again, I purchased and read many e-books, reports, software and services and began to build a small income online.
Thousands of dollars and some successful clients later, I had very little to show for it other than all of the money I made others and the vast library of knowledge in my head. (I do have a pretty big head -- ;-D )
Then one day through world famous internet marketer Jo Han Mok, I met Mike Litman, then Dave Lakhani & Steve Watts. Mike and Dave showed me what I was doing wrong, what I needed to know and how to apply it. Most importantly they showed me what they had learned so that I didn’t have to make the same mistakes.
If you fast forward to today you will see that I’m now helping change the lives of thousands of people around the world through my newsletter and coaching system and I’m well on my way to creating millions in revenue!
So what’s the 80/20 Success Secret?
It is….
Finding Mentors or Coaches and learning everything you can from them.
Instead of investing tons of money in books and programs, invest in a mentor and you WILL get the most results!
Remember very few actions generate the most results. Instead of taking 1,000 steps and many years to achieve your desired results, you’re only taking one step and very little time to get your results this way. You’re paying them to learn from their mistakes and successes.
No book or program can offer you that!
So when you’re ready to leap towards success and break through your obstacles, seek out your mentor(s) and be ready for anything!
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