|
|
Total Number of Subscribers: 451 |
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
Date: 13th July 2008 |
Inspired by Mr. M. Sathya Kumar |
|
|
|
Wipro
chief's 10-point recipe for success
"You should dare to dream, define what you stand for,
never lose your zest and curiosity, always strive for excellence, build self
confidence, learn to work in teams, take care of yourself, preserve, have a
broader social vision and finally never let success go to your head,"
Premji said. The Wipro chairman was delivering the convocation address at
the 38 the convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Following is the entire text of the
convocation address made by Premji: I am privileged to be with you here today and to share this
significant moment of your life. The convocation marks the culmination of all the endless
nights you worked through, all the anxieties you have gone through facing one
examination after another and all the preparation you have put in, not only
to enter this prestigious institution but also to graduate from it
successfully. It is no mean achievement. Only a handful of the most talented people in the world have
shared this success with you. Let me just say that I am very proud of each
and every one of you. I am a little wary about giving you advice- because advice is
one thing young people all over the world do not like receiving. I cannot
fault you for that. The world does look very different when it is seen with your
eyes. You are filled with enthusiasm and are straining at the leash to get on
with life. And the world is very different from what it was when I was at
your age. Never before has the role of technology been so pervasive and so
central. The Internet has breached all physical borders and connected the
world together like no other force has done before. For the first time, opportunities for creating wealth in India
are at par with the best in world. There is no need for you to sacrifice the
joy of remaining in your own country any more. All opportunities are accompanied by their own challenges. I
thought I would share with you a few of the lessons I have learnt in my own
life, while loading the transformation at Wipro, from a small company three
and a half decades back into a global corporation listed on the New York
Stock Exchange. I hope you find them useful. Lesson # 1: Dare to dream When I entered Wipro at the age of 21, it was a sudden and
unexpected event. I had no warning of what lay ahead of me and I was caught
completely unprepared. All I had with me was a dream. A dream of building a great Organisation. It compensated for
my inexperience and I guess, also prevented me from being overwhelmed by the
enormity of the task before me. What I am happy is that we never stopped dreaming. Even when
we achieved a position of leadership in every business we operated in India.
We now have a dream of becoming one of the top 10 global it service
companies. Many people wonder whether having unrealistic dreams is
foolish. My reply to that is dreams by themselves can never be realistic or
safe. If they were, they would not be dreams. I do agree that one must have
strategies to execute dreams. And, of course, one must slog to transform
dreams into reality. But dreams come first. What saddens me most is to see young, bright people getting
completely disillusioned by a few initial setbacks and slowly turning cynical
and some of them want to migrate to America in the hope this is the solution.
It requires courage to keep dreaming. And that is when dreams
are most needed- not when everything is going right, but when just about
everything is going wrong. Lesson # 2: Define what you stand for While success is important, it can become enduring only if it
is built on a strong foundation of Values. Define what you stand for as early
as possible and do not compromise with it for any reason. Nobody can enjoy
the fruits of success if you have to argue with your own conscience. In Wipro, we defined our Beliefs long before it became a
fashion to do so. It not only helped us in becoming more resilient to stand
up to crises we faced along the way, but it also helped us in attracting the
right kind of people. Eventually, we realised that our values made eminent business
sense. Values help in clarifying what everyone should do or not do in any
business situation. It saves enormous time and effort because each issue does
not have to be individually debated at length. But remember that values are meaningful only if you practice
them. People may listen to what you say but they will believe what you do.
Values are a matter of trust. They must be reflected in each one of your
actions. Trust takes a long time to build but can be lost quickly by just one
inconsistent act. Lesson #3: Never lose your zest and curiosity All the available knowledge in the world is accelerating at a
phenomenal rate. The whole world's codified knowledge base (all documented
information in library books and electronic files) doubled every 30 years in
the early 20th century. By the 1970s, the world's knowledge base doubled every seven
years. Information researchers predict that by the year 2010, the world's
codified knowledge will double every 11 hours. Remaining on top of what you need to know will become one of
the greatest challenges for you. The natural zest and curiosity for learning is one of the
greatest drivers for keeping updated on knowledge. A child's curiosity is
insatiable because every new object is a thing of wonder and mystery. The
same zest is needed to keep learning new things. I personally spend at least ten hours every week on reading.
If I do not do that, I find myself quickly outdated. Lesson # 4: Always strive for excellence There is a tremendous difference between being good and being
excellent in whatever you do. In the world of tomorrow, just being good is
not good enough. One of the greatest advantages of globalisation is that it has
brought in completely different standards. Being the best in the country is
not enough; one has to be the best in the world. Excellence is a moving
target. One has to constantly raise the bar. In the knowledge-based industries, India has the unique
advantage of being a quality leader. just like japan was able to win in the
overseas market with its quality leadership in automobile manufacturing,
india has been able to do the same in information technology. At Wipro, we treat quality as the #1 priority. This enabled us
not only to become the world's first SEI CMM Level 5 software services
company in the world but also a leader in Six Sigma approach to quality in
India. However, even today I am dissatisfied with several things
which we are not doing right in the area of customer satisfaction. Doing something excellently has its own intrinsic joy, which I
think is the greatest benefit of Quality. Lesson # 5: Build self-confidence Self-confidence comes from a positive attitude even in adverse
situations. Self-confident people assume responsibility for their mistakes
and share credit with their team members. They are able to distinguish between what is in their control
and what is not. They do not waste their energies on events that are outside
their control and hence they can take setbacks in their stride. Remember, no one can make you feel inferior without your
consent. Lesson # 6: Learn to work in teams The challenges ahead are so complex that no individual will be
able to face them alone. While most of our education is focused in individual
strength, teaming with others is equally important. You cannot fire a missile
from a canoe. Unless you build a strong network of people with complimentary
skills, you will be restricted by your own limitations. Globalisation has brought in people of different origin,
different upbringing and different cultures together. Ability to become an
integral part of a cross-cultural team will be a must for your success. Lesson # 7 Take care of yourself The stress that a young person faces today while beginning his
or her career is the same as the last generation faced at the time of
retirement. I have myself found that my job has become enormously more
complex over the last two or three years. Along with mutual alertness,
physical fitness will also assume a great importance in your life. You must develop your own mechanism for dealing with stress. I
have found that a daily jog for me, goes a long way in releasing the pressure
and building up energy. You will need lots of energy to deal with the
challenges. Unless you take care of yourself there is no way you can take
care of others. Lesson # 8: Persevere Finally, no matter what you decide to do in your life, you
must persevere. Keep at it and you will succeed, no matter how hopeless it
seems at times. In the last three and half decades, we have gone through many
difficult times. But we have found that if we remain true to what we believe
in, we can surmount every difficulty that comes in the way. I remember reading this very touching story on perseverance. An eight-year-old child heard her parents talking about her
little brother. All she knew was that he was very sick and they had no money
left. They were moving to a smaller house because they could not afford to
stay in the present house after paying the doctor's bills. Only a very costly
surgery could save him now and there was no one to loan them the money. When she heard daddy say to her tearful mother with whispered
desperation, 'Only a miracle can save him now', the child went to her bedroom
and pulled a glass jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured all the change out on the floor and counted it
carefully. Clutching the precious jar tightly, she slipped out the back
door and made her way six blocks to the local drug Store. She took a quarter
from her jar and placed it on the glass counter. "And what do you want?" asked the pharmacist.
"It's for my little brother," the girl answered back. "He's
really, really sick and I want to buy a miracle." "I beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist. "His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing
inside his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him. So how much
does a miracle cost?" "We don't sell miracles here, child. I'm sorry," the
pharmacist said, smiling sadly at the little girl. "Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't
enough, I can try and get some more. Just tell me how much it costs." In the shop was a well-dressed customer. He stooped down and
asked the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does you brother
need?" "I don't know," she replied with her eyes welling
up. "He's really sick and mommy says he needs an operation. But my daddy
can't pay for it, so I have brought my savings". "How much do you have?" asked the man. "One
dollar and eleven cents, but I can try and get some more", she answered
barely audibly. "Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man. "A
dollar and eleven cents -- the exact price of a miracle for little
brothers." He took her money in one hand and held her hand with the
other. He said, "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother
and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the kind of miracle you
need." That well-dressed man was Dr Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon,
specialising in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed without charge and
it wasn't long before Andrew was home again and doing well. "That surgery," her mom whispered, "was a real
miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?" The little girl smiled. She knew exactly how much the miracle
cost ... one dollar and eleven cents ... plus the faith of a little child. Perseverance can make miracles happen. Lesson # 9: Have a broader social vision For decades we have been waiting for some one who will help us
in 'priming the pump' of the economy. The government was the logical choice for doing it, but it was
strapped for resources. Other countries were willing to give us loans and
aids but there was a limit to this. In the millennium of the mind, knowledge-based industries like
Information Technology are in a unique position to earn wealth from outside.
While earning is important, we must have mechanisms by which we use it for
the larger good of our society. Through the Azim Premji Foundation, we have targeted over the
next 12 months to enrol over a million children, who are out of school due to
economic or social reasons. I personally believe that the greatest gift one can give to
others is the gift of education. We who have been so fortunate to receive
this gift know how valuable it is. Lesson # 10: Never let success go to your head No matter what we achieve, it is important to remember that we
owe this success to many factors and people outside us. This will not only
help us in keeping our sense of modesty and humility intact but also help us
to retain our sense of proportion and balance. The moment we allow success to build a feeling or arrogance,
we become vulnerable to making bad judgements. Let me illustrate this with another story: A lady in faded dress and her husband, dressed in a threadbare
suit, walked in without an appointment into the office of the president of
the most prestigious educational institution in America. The secretary frowned at them and said, "He will be busy
all day." "We will wait," said the couple quietly. The secretary ignored them for hours hoping they will go away.
But they did not. Finally, the secretary decided to disturb the president,
hoping they will go way quickly once they meet him. The president took one look at the faded dresses and glared
sternly at them. The lady said, "Our son studied here and he was very
happy. A year ago, he was killed in an accident. My husband and I would like
to erect a memorial for him on the campus." The president was not touched. He was shocked. "Madam, we
cannot put up a statue for every student of ours who died. This place would
look like a cemetery." "Oh, no," the lady explained quickly, "we don't
want to erect a statue. We thought we would give a building to you." "A building?" exclaimed the president, looking at
their worn out clothes. "Do you have any idea how much a building costs?
Our buildings cost close to ten million dollars!" The lady was silent. The president was pleased and thought
this would get rid of them. The lady looked at her husband. "If that is what it costs
to start a university, why don't we start our own?" Her husband nodded. Mr and Mrs Leland Stanford walked away, travelling to Palo
Alto, California, where they established the university as a memorial to
their son, bearing their name - the Stanford University. The story goes that this is how Stanford University began. I wish you every success in your career and your future life. Source : The Rediff News |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rewards waiting for feedback at |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Disclaimer: We believe that the information contained in this e-zine is true. If you do not wish to receive Smart Trainee please click here. |
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click here to contact us, if you are unable to view the content properly |
|
|
|
|
|
