Azim Premji's Lessons

The following are the excerpts from the address by Azim Premji Chairman of Wipro, at the 37th con­vocation of lIT Delhi recently:

I am privileged to be with you here today and to share this significant moment of your life. The world you are entering is in many ways very different now from what it was when I began my career. India is among the two large economies (above US $700 billion), growing above seven percent. Yet there are funda­mental challenges in the country including education, basic infrastructure, water, health and hygiene which need to be addressed.

Lesson # 1: Take charge
This was the first thought that came to me, when over four decades ago, I stepped into the Wipro factory at Amalner. I was 21 and had spent the last few years in Stanford University Engineer­ing School at California. Many people advised me to take up a nice, cushy job rather than face the challenges of running a hydrogenated oil business. Looking back, I am glad I decided to take charge instead. Essentially, leader­ship begins from within.

Lesson # 2: Earn your happiness.
The second lesson I have learnt is that a rupee earned is of far more value than five found. In my own life, I have found that nothing gives as much satisfaction as earning our rewards. In fact, what is gifted or inherited follows the old rule of come easy, go easy. I guess we only know the value of what we have if we have struggled to earn it.

Lesson # 3: Nothing succeeds like failure
The third lesson I have learnt is no one bats a hundred every time. Life has many challenges. You win some and lose some. You must enjoy win­ning. But do not let it go to the head. The moment it does, you are already on your way to fail­ure. And if you do encounter failure along the way, treat it as an equally natural phenome­non. Don’t beat yourself for it or any one else for that matter! Accept it, look at your own share in the problem, learn from it and move on. The important thing is, when you lose, do not lose the lesson.

Lesson # 4: Nothing fails like success
The fourth lesson I have learnt is the importance of humility. There is a thin line of difference between confidence and arrogance. Confident peo­ple are always open to learn. Arrogance on the other hand stops learning. It comes with a feeling that one knows all that needs to be known and has done all that needs to be done. Complacency can dull the senses and prevent us from knowing what is happening around us. That is the first step towards failure.

Lesson #5: There has to be a better way
We must remember that no matter how well we do some­thing there has to be a better way! Excellence is not a desti­nation but a journey. Continu­ous improvement happens when we believe it is possible and when we are willing to work for it. Sometimes, we reach a plateau in our climb for perfection. That is when we need to look sideways. Cre­ativity and innovation some­times need inspiration from other disciplines.

Lesson #6: Respond, not react
There is a world of differ­ence between the two and in terms of success and failure. The difference is that the mind comes in between responding and reacting. When we respond, we evaluate with a calm mind and do whatever is most appropriate. We are in control of our actions. When we react, we are still doing what the other person wants us to do.

Lesson #7: Remain physically active
It is easy to take health for granted when you are young. But when you enter the 24 by 7 schedule of your work, it is important not to succumb to time pressure and sacrifice the time needed for physical fitness.

Lesson #8: Never compromise on your core values
Mahatma Gandhiji often said that you must open the windows of your mind, but you must not be swept off your feet by the breeze. One must define what you stand for. This is not difficult. But values lie, not in the words used to describe them, as much as in the simple acts. And that is the hard part.

Lesson #9: Play to win
Playing to win does not mean playing dirty. Playing to win brings out the best in us and in our teams. It brings out the desire to stretch, to achieve that which seems beyond our grasp. It is about aiming for the maximum, a passion to do our best and having the hunger to be the best. It is not about win­ning at the expense of others.

Lesson # 10: Give back to society
I mentioned in the begin­ning that while India has made tremendous progress, we also have significant challenges. All of us have a collective social responsibility towards doing our bit to address them. Of all the challenges, the key to me is education. We have a para­doxical situation, where on the one hand we have jobs chas­ing scarce talent and on the other, rampant unemploy­ment and poverty. The only, way to bridge these two ends of the pole is by providing quality education that is accessible by all.