The living legend-Mr. Narayan Murthy-his journey,leadership,30 lessons

Entrepreneur Mr. Narayan Murthy

ANUJA CHAVAN

N R NARAYAN MURTHY

Born: 20-AUGUST-1946, MysoreEducation: B.E ELECTRICAL [UNIVERSITY OF MYSORE(1967)] M.Tech [IIT,KANPUR (1969)Career:1. First position was at IIM Ahmadabad as chief

systems programmer where he worked on a time-sharing system and designed and implemented a BASIC interpreter for ECIL (Electronics Corporation of India Limited).

2. Patni Computer Systems [Pune].

Journey of Mr. Murthy….. In 1981, Narayan Murthy founded Infosys with

six other software professionals.

Founders• Nandan Nilekani [CEO & MD]

• S Gopalakrishnan [DIRECTOR]

• S D Shibulal [DIRECTOR]

• K Dinesh [DIRECTOR]

• N S Raghavan [retired as joint managing director in 2000 & now chairman of the advisory council of the N S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore]

• Ashok Arora [worked for the company till 1988 and left after selling his shares in the then unlisted company back to the other promoters. He moved to the United States where he now works as a consultant]

How Infosys came to being…

Narayan Murthy’s arrest in Bulgaria

From communism to Capitalism

Start-up Capital contribution from each founder/co-founder

Sudha Murthy’s support

Infosys Technologies Ltd.

Started in 1981 by seven people with US$ 250(Rs. 10000) from his wife.

Infosys defines, designs and delivers technology-enabled business solutions for Global 2000 companies.

Infosys also provides a complete range of services by leveraging our domain and business expertise and strategic alliances with leading technology providers.

Infosys has a global footprint with 64 offices and 63 development centers in US, India, China, Australia, Japan, Middle East, UK, Germany, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Poland, Canada and many other countries.

In 1987, Infosys opened its first international office in U.S.A.

With the liberalization of Indian economy in 1990s, Infosys grew rapidly.

1993, the company came up with its IPO. In 1995, Infosys set up development centers across

cities in India and in 1996, it set up its first office in Europe in Milton Keynes, UK.

In 1999, Infosys became the first Indian company to be listed on NASDAQ.

2002: Ranked No. 1 in the

"Best Employers in India 2002“ survey conducted by Hewitt

and in the Business World's survey of

"India's Most Respected Company."

2006: Turnover= more than $ 2billion

Employee strength= over 50,000.

Murthy served as the CEO of Infosys for 21 years from 1981 to 2002 & was succeeded by co-founder Nandan Nilekani.

He was Chairman of the Board from 2002 to 2006, after which he became Chairman of the Board and Chief Mentor.

In August 2011, he retired from the company, taking the title Chairman Emeritus.

Sudha murthy

SUDHA MURTHY An electrical engineer & M.E. in Computer Science from

the Indian Institute of Science. First female engineer hired at India's largest auto manufacturer TATA

Engineering and Locomotive Company or TELCO. Met Narayan Murthy while employed as an engineer at TELCO in Pune Clerk-cum-cook-cum-programmer Opted to be a homemaker Mr. Murthy : “Sudha, I stepped on your career to

make mine. You are responsible for my success”.

Teaches computer science to MBA & MCA students..

INFOSYS FOUNDATION[1997]

Sole objective: Uplifting the less-privileged sections of society.

Sudha Murthy is one of the trustees- our activities span six states travel to around 800 villages constantly donate around Rs 5-6 crores every year run Infosys Foundation the way Mr. Murthy

runs Infosys - in a professional and scientific way..

AWARDS• 2012 Hoover Medal American Society of Mechanical Engineers • 2011 NDTV Indian of the Year's Icon of India NDTV• 2010 IEEE Honorary Membership Institute of Electrical and

Electronics Engineers. • 2009 Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate

Citizenship Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars• 2008 Padma Vibhushan President of India • 2008 Officer of the Legion of Honor Government of France• 2007 Commander of the Order of the British Empire

(CBE) Government of United Kingdom • 2007 IEEE Ernst Weber Engineering Leadership

Recognition Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers• 2000 Padma Shri President of India

A great leader• Primary creator of India's biggest (and

respected) IT Organization Infosys• Mr. Murthy obtained Rs 10,000 from spouse to begin Infosys.

But all know the achievements of Infosys

• Served as CEO of this organization for more 20 years• Receiver of several famous prizes like 'Padma

Vibhushan', and also 'Legion of the Honor‘• Regularly on the panel of HSBC, Honda Base and

UN Base.

• Had been regularly rated as great among top company leaders/influential individualities through well known press and media houses like The Time, Economist, CNN..

• IT consultant to the several China companies..

30 lessons of Mr. Narayan Murthy

1-Seize Your Gandhi Moment

Murthy, a self proclaimed socialist in the mid '70s was jailed for 72 hours in Bulgaria. The

experience taught him that entrepreneurship and job creation is the way to alleviate

poverty.

2-You might fail, but get started Learn from mistakes and move on.

In 1976, Murthy founded Softronics, a company that lasted a year and a half. When he realised that his first venture wasn't taking off, he moved on.

3-Think Big. Don't Hesitate to Start Small.

In 1981, a determined Murthy started Infosys with Rs 10,000 he borrowed from his wife. In few years, Infosys went on to become one of the largest wealth creators in the country.

4-Cut Yourself a Slice, Not a Large One

Always When Infosys was set up, Murthy took a pay cut while salaries of other co-founder's were increased by 10 percent. According to Murthy, a leader needs to show his or her sacrifice and commitment.

5-Lend a Hand and Throw in a Foot Too

After Murthy convinced seven of his colleagues, there was a problem. Nandan's future in-laws were not sure about him. Murthy met Nandan's uncle and convinced him.

6-Own Up, and Then Clean Up

In the '80s Infosys developed an application for a German client. Murthy noticed a single character error and informed the client immediately.

7-Trust in God, But Verify with Data

In God we trust, the rest must come with data, is perhaps Murthy's favorite statement. When confronted with difficult decisions, he tends to rely on data.

8-Keep the Faith

Infosys almost wound up in 1990. Murthy did not want to sell the company. He asked co-founders if they wanted out and offered to buy their shares. All of them stuck together.

9-Get Involved

Infosys won a contract from Reebok in the early '90s. Seeing the founders involvement, the software, was nick named 'Dinesh, Murthy and Prahlad.' Infy veterans still recall those days.

10-Sharing is Caring

After the IPO, Infosys decided to share a portion of its equity with employees. This helped them retain talent and gave employees a sense of ownership. Murthy is proud of having given away stocks worth over Rs 50,000 crore to employees.

11-Treat your People Good, but Your Best Better

Murthy always had a thing for good performers. And he rewarded them well. When Infosys decided to give its employees stock options, Murthy insisted that some shares be given to good performers through the 'Chairman's quota.'

12-Hire a Good Accountant, Even if he is Argumentative

A young, argumentative Indian, was asking too many questions at an annual general body meeting of Infosys. More impressed than irritated, he hired Mohandas Pai, who went on to help Infosys list on Nasdaq.

13-When in Doubt, Disclose

Keep your books clean and leave the cooking to the chef. Murthy's philosophy about being open and transparent has given the company a lot of credibility. He often says, "When in doubt, please disclose.”

14-Leave the Family Out

Murthy told his wife that only one of them could be with the company. Murthy, along with other founders, said that none of their children would work for Infosys. This left no room for nepotism at Infosys.

15-Don't be a Pushover

In 1994, when General Electric wanted to re-negotiate rates, Murthy said no to selling services any cheaper. This helped Infosys not to be overly dependent on any one client.

16-Make hay While the Sun Shines

In late 90's, India's tech companies made use of the Y2K opportunity to make themselves known in the global market. For Infosys, it was a great opportunity to enter into long-term relationships with their customers.

17-Brand-aid First, Get Clinical

When the sexual harassment case against Infosys' top sales guy Phaneesh Murthy threatened to tarnish the company's brand, Murthy decided to quickly react. He let go of Phaneesh, and settled the case out of court despite Phaneesh wanting to fight it out.

18-Mind your Business, you'll See Things Coming

Murthy carries and updates a mental model of Infosys' business all the time. According to him, every leader must have a model, consisting of six to seven parameters that might affect business.

19-Keep it Simple, Not Silly

Keep your life simple and straight. That way, you get to work more and worry less. Murthy is known to be frugal with money. Despite being one of the richest Indians, he leads a simple life. However, he does not cut corners on buying books or brushing up on

literature.

20-Founders Keepers, but Not Forever

Murthy's decision to not allow founders to continue with the company after the age of 65 set another standard for the company. This way, younger leaders at Infosys had a greater chance at the top positions.

21-Talent Spotting and Division of Labor

Murthy is known to have an eye for talent and a talent for dividing labour. Nandan was given sales responsibilities while Kris and Shibu did the tech stuff. N S Raghavan was asked to handle people and Dinesh was assigned quality.

22-Hold on to Your People but don't Cling

Letting go is never easy but its not good to cling on to your colleagues either. Amongst the founders, Ashok Arora, Nandan Nilekani and K Dinesh have quit Infosys. Infy veteran Mohandas Pai has also left Infosys.

23-Give, it only gets you more

In 2010, the Murthy's donated $ 5.2 million USD to Harvard University Press for a project that aims to make India's classical heritage available for generations to come. He is also supporter of the Akshaya Patra Foundation.

24-Do it First and Do it Right

Infosys did many things first. And most things right. For example, it was the first Indian company to list on Nasdaq. It was the first Indian company to make it to the Nasdaq 100 list and it was the first Indian company to attain the highest level of quality

certification.

25-Perils of Being a Poster Child

Being the poster child of Indian IT industry, Infosys and Murthy have been at the receiving end of many criticisms. The company has been accused of taking away American jobs and been called a "chop shop."

26-Get Rich. Honestly

Rich businesses were considered to be dirty in the days when the country had a socialist bent. Infy was a company which got rid of this sentiment. Murthy, with his 'no compromise' policy on greasing palms and doing ethical business, set the standards.

27-Do Not be Afraid to Court Controversy

Ever since Infosys became a success, Murthy was under constant public glare. This did not deter the straight talking Murthy from courting controversy or voicing his opinions openly.

28-Invest in Learning

With big investments in training, development and building facilities, India's IT bell-weather has always been keen on grooming the younger generation. Murthy drove the culture of learning in the company in its early days.

29-Never Lose the Common Touch

The big man of Indian IT kept his personal life simple. He lives in a simple, middle class house and flies economy till date. Murthy has always been accessible to people around him.

30-Do Good, Look Good

Murthy knew the importance of creating an image for Infosys. He invested in creating a sprawling, world class campuses early on, bigger than any other company's headquarters in the country, that would make his global customers feel like they were in a global

office.

HE WAS.. HE IS.. HE WILL..

He is a living legend and an epitome of the fact that honesty, transparency, and moral integrity are not at variance with business acumen. He set new standards in corporate governance and morality when he stepped down as the Executive Chairman of Infosys at the age of 60.

Thank You