About influential people in life, challenges in early career and two things an entrepreneur needs to be successful In an interview granted to The Week NR Narayana Murthy, founder of Infosys and one of the pioneers of the IT sector in India As stated:
I grew up in a lower middle class family. Our way was to live simply. My parents constantly reminded me about the values of discipline, honesty, education and the importance of hard work. My father always made sure that we taught our children Mahatma Gandhi’s ideal of living by example. The biggest lesson I have learned from my family is the same – do what you say. Lead from the front.
My father taught me one of the biggest lessons a student should know – prepare a time table while studying at home. He knew that subjects like geography and history were difficult for me to learn. “If you don’t set aside proper time to study those subjects at home, you will never learn them,” said my father once. That’s how I prepared the time table including likes and dislikes. This is one of the lessons that helped me the most as a student.
What I learned from my mother was empathy, kindness and compassion. Mother taught us the idea of sharing what we have with the less fortunate. It was the headmaster of the high school who taught us to protect public property more carefully than our own property. IIM professor J.G. taught that accurate figures and information should be taken into account while making decisions on critical issues. It is Krishnaiah. It was a professor in Paris who taught that every transaction should be seen as new without the burden of old transactions, that there should be no prejudices while making decisions, that calculations should be accurate and that responsibility should be taken in everything. From my parents, high school teachers in Mysuru, bosses in India and abroad, I am influenced by everyone.
The importance of sticking to values
Governed by intelligence, inspired by values is the motto of Infosys. We knew that only leadership that believes in values can win the respect of the government, society, colleagues and customers. The lower level government officials often asked us for bribes to achieve many things. They said if you give us what you want, we can give you what you want. But we were not ready to surrender to their demands. As a result, several projects faced indefinite delays. Once upon a time, we were taxed at a rate that was unacceptably high. It took the next 10 years to recoup that money. It was a very painful experience. The only consolation is that we won in the end.
In the beginning there were mishaps but honesty never gave up. The same officials who were harassing us by asking for bribes etc started respecting us. Now everyone knows that there can be no untruthful act on the part of Infosys. I would like to say to budding entrepreneurs that even if you have bad experiences, don’t give up. If so no one will ask you for bribe.
Lessons learned in life
The biggest life-changing lesson I learned was not in India, but in France. That’s where I go from being a confused leftist to a determined and kind entrepreneur. It was only after he went to work in a firm in Paris that his desire to become an entrepreneur was solidified. It was in the early 1970s. The desire to become an entrepreneur took root in me from learning three things.
1. The only way to eradicate poverty in a country like India is to create better opportunities with better salaries.
2. Employment opportunities can only be created by welcoming entrepreneurs in the private sector. By implementing better ideas, productivity can be increased and service can be improved. Thus entrepreneurs generate income on their own and create job opportunities for others.
3. Government of any country should encourage entrepreneurs who create better job opportunities. All the hurdles in front of the entrepreneurs should be removed and investment favorable conditions should be created.
I learned these three lessons through Saturday and Sunday discussions with people from the left and right parties when I was in Paris. I was also very impressed with the implementation of the free market system by Western countries. I have seen those countries solve the huge problem of poverty and improve the lives of ordinary people by creating jobs and wealth. They were able to effectively implement many things like growth of basic construction sector, cleanliness and corruption free system. My socialist mindset based on Nehru’s policies was shaken. I was amazed that my country would become like the rich European countries. New ideas were forming in the mind during the return trip from Paris to Mysore to other European countries.
In the 1970s, I visited almost all European countries, Israel, Iraq, Soviet Union, Gulf, Iran, Afghanistan, etc. With an unpleasant situation with the police in Serbia through no fault of my own, I completely changed from a left-wing person to a strong-willed entrepreneur.
Lead from the front and do what you say. Only through these, one can gain the respect and admiration of colleagues. Luck plays a crucial role in any man’s success. Always try not to let success get to your head. Humility and humility are always needed.
If you do well, you can get recognition
With acceptance comes respect; When respect is earned, so is power. India can also become economically strong only if it works well and achieves success. Better ideas are also needed. As individuals, we must maintain our courtesy and humility even when moving up. A clear conscience is the softest pillow. Always keep the best values in mind.
Face to face with suffering
During the founding years of Infosys in 1981, all my colleagues were in the US. I was the only one in India that time. It was my responsibility to face all the hardships in the beginning. The main challenge was the unfounded barriers posed by the government system. It was difficult to get telephone connections, licenses, bank loans etc.
It took 7 years to get telephone connection. It took two years to import the computer. He visited Delhi 30 times just for that. A minimum of two weeks was required for foreign exchange to visit any country for a day’s business purpose. There were few officials who understood what the market was, how the market moved or even how the stock market worked. The only positive thing is that the situation in the US has been positive. Not forgetting that we had few competitors in India and the US at that time. We also had talented engineers.
Today the competition is so fierce in every field that only more talent can sustain and win. Talented entrepreneurs are coming every day. There is no shortage of ideas. Apart from the most talented 10 percent, it cannot be said that the number of talented people in India is high. Success can only be achieved by understanding the market and molding talent. I think it is more difficult to win today than in the past. Therefore, today’s entrepreneurs are more capable than who I once was. I am also their fan.
Content Summary : Narayana Murthy Explains why it is more difficult to succeed now than during his time