30 lessons from Infosys Narayana Murthy

NR Narayana Murthy, who steps down as Infosys chairman on August 20, is a role model for not just what he achieved but also how he did it. Here are 30 lessons from Murthy, one for each year he spent at company.

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 inlaws 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 favourite 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 Push over
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 Labour

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
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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.

Having a Career Goal

Why to have a career goal? Does a career goal limit your future?

Many of us spend most of our working hours engaged in work. Yet over 75% or working population is not happy with their current job situation. Here comes the importance of having a Career Goal. A career goal helps you focus on what you want to do for a living. A career goal can be a specific job you want to do – such as doctor, teacher or engineer – or a career goal can be a particular field you want to work in, such as IT, Education etc.

Rather than limiting your future, a career goal may help you discover career opportunities that you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise. There are several job opportunities with any chosen career. For instance, if you choose a medicine as career, you may want to be a scientist, a nurse or a doctor.

A career goal will also guide you into doing what you want with your life – rather than just drifting into a job. Generally, a career goal in based on your skills and interests, career possibilities, and job trends. Once you have chosen a career, think strategically about the steps to accomplish your goal.

Understanding and accomplishing your career goal will be a lot easier if you also create a career plan. A career plan determines your skills and interests, what career best suits your talents and what skills and training you need for your chosen career.

• Tips on achieving a Career Goal
  Analyze and evaluate your skills and capabilities
  Whether you’re employed, unemployed, considering a career change, re-entering the job market, or recently graduated, the first step toward reaching your career potential is to objectively analyze and evaluate your skills and capabilities.
  Have a coach or a career counselor objectively assess your natural talents, skills & professional strength
• Set realistic goals
  Create a career plan that will give you a competitive edge. Be specific. Have it reviewed objectively.
• Use marketing techniques for a competitive edge
  You need to implement an effective marketing strategy to increase your visibility and give you an edge. Create a career plan to meet your needs.
• Find long term support, even after your short term career goals are met
  In order to keep growing, stay abreast of market trends and issues related to your career growth and development. Use an objective partner to support you.
• Use an approach that meets your needs
  Don’t follow guidelines in a book or from a friend if they are not comfortable for you and representative of who you are. Be authentic in designing a plan that really reflects who you are.

Tips to crack interview

• Don't blame others
  There are many tough questions that put pressure on you or create stress. What if you are asked: "Why did you leave your last job?", or "Why have you had so many jobs?" If you say your last boss was an idiot, or all your jobs have been terrible, you'll be seen as someone who blames others and fails to take responsibility for your own actions and decision.
  
  Moreover why would employers want to employ someone who doesn't take responsibility and come up with answers, not problems? Employers don't want to employ people who blame others.
  
  "Always express positive reasons and answers when given an opportunity to express the negative. Never blame anyone or anything else," says Amy Lightfoot who teaches 'Interview skills' as part of Spoken English at British Council India, Delhi.
  
  "I was ready for more challenge", or "Each job offered a better opportunity, which I took...," such responses are better.
• Sell yourself
  Remember, the job interview is a platform to market yourself. It is a strategic conversation with a purpose. Your goal is to persuade the employer that you have the skills, background and ability to do the job and that you can comfortably fit into the organisation and its culture.
• Keep your praise & observations credible & realistic
  "The best technique to handle such question is to praise your past employers. However, keep your praise and observations credible, realistic and relevant. Try to mention attributes that your interviewer and prospective new employer will identify and agree with. This will build association and commonality between you and the interviewer, which is normally vital for successful interview outcomes," explains Lightfoot.
  
  However, there can be real tough ones: "Why should we appoint you?" or "What can you do for us that other people cannot?"
  
  Nevertheless, Shiv Khera author of bestseller "You Can Win" explains, "Candidate has a choice here as to how to play this: he can either go for it strongly, re-stating his relevant strengths -- behaviour, experience and skills, or he can quietly confidently suggest: I don't know the other applicants, so it would be wrong for me to dismiss their claims. However, I am sure that I have all the main attributes the role requires, which, combined with determination and positive approach, should ensure that I'd be a very good choice."
• Be positive
  He further says that the candidate should be positive in saying, "I don't know the other applicants, but generally I excel at..." and pick up strengths that most fit with what they're seeking.
• Maintain calmness
  Most of the candidates fail due to fear and tension. Rajeev Vaid, CEO, Smart Hiring, Delhi says, "A candidate's resume may be good, he may have good IQ but a successful interview depends also on emotional quotient. How well he handles the pressure questions. However, one should maintain calmness even if the interviewer howls."
• Do your homework well
  The only way to handle such situation is to be confident, credible and constructive (accentuate the positive) in your answers. And more important is 'preparation for the interview'. Plan and rehearse your 'verbal resume'. You will almost always be asked, "Please tell us about yourself," so be prepared with a good response, tailored to the job at hand. Prepare a written list of likely interview questions and job requirements. Prepare key points you need to make to demonstrate your specific accomplishments in each area.
  Why did you leave your last job?
  Why have you had so many jobs?
  Why do you want this job?
  What qualities do you think are required for this job?
  Why should we appoint you? 6. What can you do for us that other people cannot?
  What can we offer you that your previous company cannot?
  What are your greatest achievements within and outside the workplace?
  What are your great strengths and weaknesses?
  How has your experience prepared you for this position?
  If you are asked what questions you have, and you don't have any, the interviewer may get the impression you haven't done your homework, or aren't seriously interested in the position. Prepare your questions in advance and phrase them to demonstrate your insight and ability to handle the position. "Often, the most successful applicants are those who simply out-work their competition," points out Khera.
• Communication is the key skill
  Develop your verbal communications skills. Having great management or technical skills and a strong record of accomplishment is not helpful if you can't verbally convey you successes.
• Answer questions directly
  Then elaborate with examples. Choose examples that highlight past successes and relate it to the projects or issues that interviewer is facing, but avoid excessively lengthy responses. The purpose of tough interview questions is to encourage interviewees to think about themselves and to give the interviewer clear and revealing information as to the interviewee's suitability for the job. One key to success is to use every means at your disposal to develop effective interviewing skills, including selective presentation of your background, thoughtful answers to typical interview questions, well-researched questions about the organisation, and an effective strategy to market yourself. There is no magic to interviewing. It is a skill that can be learned and developed with practice.

Be a More Knowledgeable Person

     You ever feel you're lacking knowledge, and you're no longer in school? Well there's ways to keep your mind sharp and expand your knowledge. Being a more knowledgeable person helps you with your personal life, social life, along with the line of work even. We are always able to learn more in life. Here's steps and tips on how to expand your knowledge.

Make a personal journal of the things you don't know about. If there's a word you hear, or something about history for instance you don't know much about. Write this down then later look it up and write small paragraphs about it. Make your own personal journal about new things you've learn. read about it, then write it down and keep it. Read over these things. I try to keep a pen and a little notebook on me at all times. This is easy since sometimes it's difficult for our mind to process everything. Sometimes we forget things. So when you learn something new, you can always go back and read it in your personal journal so it will sink in and won't forget about it.

     Pick an area you want to be more knowledgeable in. If there's a specific area, research it and study it. Start from the bottom and work your way up slowly. If it's history, go to your library and get books on history to become more knowledgeable in this subject.

Read books that expand your knowledge. Reading books is the easiest way to learn and become a more knowledgeable person. You learn something new every time you read. A new word, or about something you're not familiar with on history or a certain subject. If you just want to be more knowledgeable in general, then reading books on philosophy, non-fiction books are great ways to improve your knowledge in general. If you are looking for specifics on expanding your knowledge, then read books that pertain to what you want to learn more about.
Watch learning programs. For instance watching a lot of programs on the discovery channel, or history channel is a great way to expand your knowledge. They have vast variety of very different and interesting topics to learn more about. From history, religion, war, all kinds of interesting and unique things. You can be entertained why learning quite a bit.
Challenge yourself each day. Set out a goal to try something, or learn something new. It can something as simple as learning more about green tea. It can be small or little. Start with the smaller things, then learn more about things that are challenging.
Listen to others and ask questions. This is the best way to learn and expand your knowledge, is just by listening to others and their experience, or expertise in something you're not familiar with. Asking questions we don't know, is an easy way to expand our knowledge and learn something new each day.
Teach what you do know. Sometimes our mind can process something we know, but teaching it out loud lets out our entire thoughts on the subject. When you teach something to someone out loud, you yourself sharpen your own expertise and knowledge in this actual category. Knowing something can be easy, but expressing it can be challenging. When you teach someone something, you're also teaching yourself a few things that you might've not been completely aware of before. Breaking things down into steps, when it comes to teaching, will help you process information in more detail in the future. Which will expand your knowledge on other topics and make it easier to process things in your mind.

My opinion about Entrepeneurship

Entrepreneurship is all about big thinking , faith in your ability n ideas n also taking big risks n if fail learning 4m failureship n standing for next risk..... our country has largest number of Entrepreneurs ......

10 Things We Can Learn From Steve Jobs:

10 Things We Can Learn From Steve Jobs:

With Steve Jobs retiring from Apple, we look at his amazing run and list 10 lessons to media, video and content companies and executives.

1) Marriage of Two Seemingly Opposing Variables

We tend to view things as dichotomies: content vs. audience, content vs. distribution; reality is that only a more nuanced, hybrid approach will prevail. Apple's "software meets hardware" worldview was criticized in bad times and lauded in good times. Today, the markets are smiling down on Apple as the world's most valuable company.

With online video, you have four quadrants: content, technology, distribution, or advertising. Whatever your mix depends on what business you operate, but understand that any one variable alone will not win over time.

2) Content is King, but the Platform is God

As one software executive told the NYTimes recently, "For 30 years, the economics of software have been the same: your platform is only as successful as the quantity and quality of applications that run on top of it."

That's true and reminds us that content is king. But the one platform that can win over the most useful and valuable content applications will become incredibly valuable, as did Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Apple. While content remains a better risk-adjusted bet, you go into content because you are passionate about story-telling.

3) Control: One Brand, One Experience

When Jobs returned to Apple, he changed the licensing program for Macintosh clones, making it cost-prohibitive for manufacturers to continue making machines. This was the first step required to build the Apple brand back to prominence and make consumers want to pay the premium for his products.

Private-label solutions are great in theory, but if you simply commoditize your offering and dilute your value, it might backfire. Everyone has criticized me for the heavy branding in videos, but in the end, it's helped build our brand and create an element of consistency to an otherwise heterogeneous catalog.

4) Going Against the Grain: One Experience, Multiple Screens

Always go against the grain; otherwise, you're a sheep. When Steve launched the iPod, music was viewed as a dead end. When he launched the iPad, people had written off tablets altogether. When you plan on attacking a market, don't make boastful claims that will come back to haunt you before you even have a product out. By the time others get their act together, you will have an insurmountable lead and too much momentum to slow down.

5) Listen to Your Gut

There's something to be said about not listening to customer market insights and research. Users -- be it business consumers who might license your content, or viewers who watch it for free and build your audience -- don't really know what they want. The best chefs get inspired by ingredients, create concoctions and place these in front of diners to delight them.

As an entrepreneur or executive, you should always follow your gut for your strategy, but the velocity or your execution should reflect the conditions on the grounds.

6) Appeal to Emotion

People buy on emotion and rationalize on facts. Jobs will be most remembered for his attention to design and understanding the crucial role aesthetics plays in public appeal, creating highly functional and elegant products that left clients in awe and competitors envious. If your target audience is Wall Street or Sand Hill Road, you won't be able to focus on the things that will make Main Street want your product or service.

7) People Matter(s)

When Jobs lured his eventual nemesis John Sculley away from Pepsi, he famously asked the executive: "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?" Sculley gave up a cushy corporate gig to join Apple, eventually ousting Jobs, and recently admitting it was a mistake (to push Jobs out).

Managing people's egos and emotions is the single biggest criteria in determining if you can be successful. While his fans and critics alike considered him the typical Silicon Valley egomaniac, he himself understood that "the total was greater than the sum of the parts. Great things in business are not done by one person, they are done by a team of people."

8) Focus on Profits

After Apple bought NeXT in 1996 and brought back Jobs, he focused his efforts on making the company profitable. Jobs terminated a number of projects, namely, Newton, Cyberdog and OpenDoc.

9) Balance Innovation with Deliverables

When I launched my company, I told everyone that it was a white canvas and the sky was the limit. But I also had no patience for those who wanted to keep adding a layer of paint to the canvas. As much as you don't want to stifle innovation, Jobs reminded his employees that "real artists ship", meaning that delivering working products on time was as important as innovation and attractive design.

10) Vision

At the 2007 Macworld Conference and Expo in January 2007, Jobs quoted Wayne Gretzky: "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been." It's very easy to suffer from herd mentality and be a sheep. You have to look out a few years and ask yourself where you want to be then and assess what kind of team you need to assemble to achieve that goal. Most entrepreneurs and executives would content themselves with one chapter from Jobs' many successful acts. Steve Jobs positioned Apple at the forefront of his industry. He didn't copy the market and he wasn't cynical about the opportunities. Above all: he stayed foolish and he stayed hungry.

IIMC SAYS PEPSICO CEO INDRA NOOYI WAS AVERAGE STUDENT

IIMC SAYS PEPSICO CEO INDRA NOOYI WAS AVERAGE STUDENT

Different people bloom at different times of life

Being average isn’t a bad thing at all as Indra Nooyi has shown. The recently appointed CEO of PepsiCo has been described by her teachers and batchmates from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta as having being an average student. To be considered average in academics is seen as a sign of an average life ahead. Parents spend years drilling into their children’s head to excel and expect them to do so in academics as that is seen as the ticket to a better future. So why should an institute like IIMC be proud of an average student like Nooyi? Does this mean that one need not excel at studies and still hope to occupy the CEO’s chair?
   History is replete with examples of people who failed or were average students, but not only were they successful later in life, some even changed the course of history. Napoleon, for instance, finished near the bottom of his class at military school yet is considered to be one of the most brilliant military strategists. Albert Einstein did poorly in elementary school and even failed his first entrance exam at the Zurich Polytechnic.
   Human beings change and different people blossom at different stages of life. And that is why an average student like Nooyi can bloom into an extremely successful professional. By putting too much emphasis on just brilliant academic performance while recruiting, companies can lose out on the real achievers.
   A publishing house may have never hired William Faulkner — he had failed to graduate from high school as he did not have enough credits. It’s an altogether different matter that he went on to win the Nobel prize for literature. Or for that matter George Washington would not have been considered presentable in today’s marks-obsessed world as he had poor grammar skills and did not do too well academically. Thomas Edison’s fate would have been well and truly sealed had emphasis been put on the fact that he was thrown out of school when he was 12 years old because he was thought to be dumb and bad at mathematics. The bottomline is that anyone can be successful — even those who were just average students.