NITIEIM18-CLD-130-SatishKumarSelvam

 In 1981, Narayana Murthy wanted to start Infosys...he the had VISION but not the capital.

It is rather surprising as well as a matter of pride for every Indian to know that Infosys was started with a meagre sum of Rs.10,000/- in 1981. What is more surprising is that the starting capital was provided by his loving wife, Sudha, who had saved it for a rainy day. What happened later is permanently etched in the pages of history!!

With the aforementioned initial investment of just Rs 10000, the company surged forward under Murthy's dedicated vision and exemplary leadership skills. The company grew from strength to strength, with Murthy serving as its CEO for the first 21 years of its existence. The company’s stock option schemes created many millionaires. In 1999, Infosys became the first Indian company to be listed on the NASDAQ.

Murty's achievements:

• Murthy is seen as the man behind the global delivery model which is a very important element in the success seen by the Indian IT services outsourcing industry
• He has served on the boards of various organizations including Unilever, HSBC, the Wharton School, the Rhodes Trust, and the Indian School of Business, the Ford Foundation and the UN Foundation
•  Not only is he an IT wizard, he has successfully led key corporate governance initiatives in India
• He is an IT adviser to several Asian countries
• Is a of recipient of numerous prestigious awards like the 'Padma Vibhushan', 'Legion of Honour' (awarded by the French government), etc
• His leadership lessons are most sought-after, not only by Indians but even by managers in other countries

    

 

 His thoughts on leadership-oriented matters:

• On adversities and challenges

  He espouses that one of the leader's core jobs is to raise the confidence of the followers. Tough time and challenges are essential parts of the life and they will come out better at the end of it. According to him, a leader has to sustain followers' hopes and their energy levels to handle the difficult days

• On building trust
  Mr Murthy is of the view that trust and confidence can only come when there is a premium on transparency. "The leader has to create an environment where each person feels secure enough to be able to disclose his or her mistakes, and resolves to improve," he emphasizes

• On Values
  Mr Murthy has always highighted importance of a value system in an organisation. And, 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. What he's really stressing here is that having a value system is not all. Leaders have to follow it themselves and thus lead by example

• On Success
  Mr Murthy's definition of a successful person is “one who when he/she walks into a room, people's eyes light up. If he/she brings a smile to people's faces, then irrespective of whether that person is educated, not educated, self-employed, employed, I would still consider that person to be successful”

• On People He Looked up to
  “When we started our business, there were already well-established business leaders who had founded and expanded their companies while sticking to sound ethical principles,” says Mr Murthy. People like JRD Tata, Ghanshyam Das Birla (Birla Group), Laxmanrao Kirloskar (Kirloskar Group), T. V. Sundaram Iyengar (TVS Group) were his role models at that time. He also admired Bill Gates, and the trio of Intel founders Gorndon E. Moore, Robert Noyce and Arthur Rock

 

10 LEADERSHIP lessons from Narayana Murthy

1. Seize Your Gandhi Moment
2. You might fail, but get started Learn from mistakes and move on.
3. Think Big. Don’t Hesitate to Start Small
4. Cut Yourself a Slice, Not a Large One AlwaysLend a Hand and Throw in a Foot Too
5. Lend a Hand and Throw in a Foot Too.
6. Own Up, and Then Clean Up
7. Trust in God, But Verify with Data
8. Keep the Faith
9. Get Involved
10. Sharing is Caring

 
To sum it all up...IT in India would have never been the way it is without one man:
N.R. Narayana Murthy.

Going "up"

"Welcome. Please press the button for the desired floor", exclaimed the automated female voice. Even though the new building was still under construction, the lifts at least were operational on Christmas eve. I won't complain as long my tummy doesn't...would anyone love climbing 13 floors?? No way!! The security cameras were yet to be installed and the 12th floor was still under construction, so I moon-walked my way into the lift. As I pressed the button 13 and creased out the wrinkle on my spotless Van Heusen shirt, I couldn't help but exclaim, "What a ridiculously squeaky voice. She wasn't focussing when her voice was recorded. I bet someone else would have done a better job. The loser deserves to be fired!!!". The shine from my spotless shoes diverted my attention as the lift ascended to my floor.."The raise is mine. I am the Senior Program Manager now. I get to rub shoulders with the biggies in the management and hopefully some beautiful girls too". I was shaken out of my Utopian dream when the familiar fragrance of Jasmine wafted through the lift. I raised my head to notice the back of the woman who had gotten on the next floor. Though she was not facing me, her posture was a comfortable enough feast for my eyes!! Here I was, all alone in the lift, getting bored...and now, I have something soothing for my eyes. I might even cajole her to into a cup of coffee. God, today is my lucky day after all.

As I was facing her back, I had a gorgeous view of what I would rather not explain. Her beautiful legs keep grabbing my eye-balls as I vehemently tried to make out her face. The familiar Jasmine fragrance and the sight of the legs was a heady cocktail and I had to control myself from doing something indecent. "Talking of indecent, I no longer need to sit in the icky 2x2 cubicle listening to the trite nonsense of my team members. I have my raise, I finally get to show them the finger and the swanky room with lighting control cooler is mine. The simple thought of that room just pumps up my adrenaline..I could do so much in the privacy of that room. Hey, maybe I could even invite this beautiful woman to that room and things might turn out the way I want. Dirty me.." (sniggers silently)!!

The fragrance kept picking at my brain and it was getting increasingly familiar....when suddenly, I saw something flash under my neck. I broke out of my reverie and looked nonchalantly at my Van Heusen shirt which was wet...red wet...with my blood!! Oh my God!!! I felt my knees buckle under me and I fell down to the floor writhing in pain. As a thick pool of blood started accumulating under my adams apple, the feminine figure in the lift rushed forward to help...just as blackness enveloped me....

***
"You got to believe me. Alex and you have an equal chance of getting the promotion. Now, you try your best not to screw up anything.. and you just might get that coveted swanky room my boy!!". I hated my Senior manager's condescending attitude and badly wanted to strangle him for that. I had been awaiting this promotion a long time, but the new recruit Alex was so dilligent, I was no longer the sole contender. I had had enough....I have to get that promotion, even if it means sabotaging Alex's career. I heard Alex was from a poor family and that was what drove Alex to outperform everyone. So what?? Even I am poor...I can barely afford a Gucci or a Van Heusen or a Tag Heur for that matter. There was also this rumour agog that Alex was from a mental rehabilitation centre. Well that made absolutely no sense. Anyhow, in tommorrow's client meeting Alex would be making a very crucial presentation. I'll screw that up so bad, Alex would be driven out of contention...and the promotion will be mine!!
***

"What was that?? Did my life just flash before my eyes?? Nah, it must be the adrenaline rush. Karma is philosophical trash!! You will rock the day man!! My floor has almost come and this beautiful woman is still with me. I might get that coffee on my table after all (sniggers)". Suddenly everything blacked out....but things came into focus in a flash. I had to strain my eyes as everything was so foggy. I was still on the floor, in a pool of blood which was seeping out of my neck. I gasped for help, but nothing came out..."What is happening to me?? This is supposed to be my day. No, this is just a dream..wake up man, wake up". Somehow, I couldn't. The beautiful woman moved forward to help me, when there was another flash as a knife drove right into my chest and then my wrists. I tried to grab her, but my weak hands just about managed to grab her ID card. As the knife was pulled out, more blood oozed out and I lost my grip on the ID card...and then, the lift stopped. "Floor number 12, Have a nice day". "Why was the lift stopping on the 12th floor?? Am I getting help?? Yes, yes!!" The woman who had just stabbed me, hid the bloody knife and made a quiet exit.

She had double-tapped the button 12, which meant I was stuck on this floor unless someone pressed the lift button from outside or I from inside. As I silently lay helpless in my own pool of blood, with numb wrists that just wouldn't move, I had a flash. The jasmine fragrance suddenly brought a face into focus. I had hit on many women before which ended in me giving them death threats. But this face, was of the woman whom I had been hitting on for the past two days...it was the face of the woman who had slapped me when I made a move on her...she used Jasmine-flavored perfume. The pain was unbearable now and I was losing consciousness fast. The aesthetic lights didn't seem aesthetic any more. The whirring fans sounded more like death knells...I was blacking out..."The ID card..the ID card...it had read Alex...Alex...Alexandria - Program Manager". My eyelids shut close as the lift door closed..."Welcome. Please press the button for the desired floor".


Note: the story and characters bear no resemblance to any living person (especially me). Women, please excuse me and think I am a male chauvinistic pig!!

Close encounters of the furry kind, part II

 For the first part of this story, please click here.

I had to pinch myself to affirm it was indeed a dog. I thought these lazy 'hooligans' retired to bed after their post-dinner jog. But no, here was the solitary soldier ready to bite my rear off...and I stood there transfixed...contemplating my next move. In the meanwhile, I managed to find enough time to admire the dog's dental work.

*** I was left with no option...paws versus bare hands, which would win?? The stage was set...it was a Mexican standoff sans guns. I ran forward...and so did the dog. Everything was moving in slow motion now, much to my delight. And I caught the direction of the dog's jaw, which was moving towards a very delicate part of my body. Now was the time to kick some serious dog-b#*$. The doggy got a powerful sucker punch from yours truly. The shock waves sent the dog flying back and tore my shirt-sleeves off!! I was shocked at my power...guess the 100 mental push-ups a day do pack some punch!! The dog recovered quickly and let out an ear-piercing howl (this would have put any top heroine to shame)...which was so powerful, I was sent rocketing backwards.... ***

....and there I was, still contemplating my next move. Shit!! I was day-dreaming again....the dog had moved in closer...I had to make a quick move or risk losing some vital organs. It was time, I couldn't control it any longer!! Admiring the dog's teeth one last time, I turned tail and ran like hell. If only Ussain Bolt had seen me!! The dog was left in a sea of flying dust as I ran blindly, trying to get as far away as possible from it. I guess it's dinner was not sumptuous enough, for it simply wouldn't let my rear out of it's sight. Damn canine genes!! Aren't dogs man's best friends?? It finally let me go, only after I was out of my own street and it's turf, back to where I had started. I eventually made a sheepish call to my watchman to come and get me...and boy, he came armed to the teeth. He had a cornucopia of stones with him, in different shapes and sizes.

Maybe the dog was aiming for a contract with Oral-B and didn't want to risk breaking it's dental magnificence. On my way back, one stone from the watchman was all it took to send the dog howling away..and all I could muster was, "Who's the chicken now doggy??".





 
Note: This was a real incident in the author's life...but the narration is exaggerated so as to gain the reader's sympathy!! If you do sympathize with him, please leave a comment. If not, may a vicious dog bite you today :p !!!