Corporate Leadership

1. Leadership

What is Leadership?

Leadership is an interactive conversation that pulls people toward becoming comfortable with the language of personal responsibility and commitment. 

Leadership is not just for people at the top.  Everyone can learn to lead by discovering the power that lies within each one of us to make a difference and practicing the law of reciprocity.

Effective leadership can happen on the dance floor of conversation So now can we say that Leadership is nothing but, "The ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are members". No matter how one defines leadership, it typically involves an element of vision. A vision provides direction to the influence process. A leader (or group of leaders) can have one or more visions of the future to aid them to move a group successfully towards this goal.

OR

Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent.

Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills. Although your position as a manager, supervisor, lead, etc. gives you the authority to accomplish certain tasks and objectives in the organization, this power does not make you a leader...it simply makes you the boss.

Good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience.

The basis of good leadership is honorable character and selfless service to your organization. In your employees' eyes, your leadership is everything you do that effects the organization's objectives and their well being. Respected leaders concentrate on what they are [be] (such as beliefs and character), what they know (such as job, tasks, and

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human nature), and what they do (such as implementing, motivating, and provide direction).

What makes a person want to follow a leader? People want to be guided by those they respect and who have a clear sense of direction. To gain respect, they must be ethical. A sense of direction is achieved by conveying a strong vision of the future.

So in a nutshell -- you must be trustworthy and you have to be able to communicate a vision of where the organization needs to go.

Purpose of Leadership

Leadership is a way of focusing and motivating a group to enable them to achieve their aims. It also involves being accountable and responsible for the group as a whole.

A leader should:

provide continuity and momentum be flexible in allowing changes of direction

Ideally, a leader should be a few steps ahead of their team, but not too far for the team to be able to understand and follow them.

Characteristics of Leadership

Involves guiding and motivating. Influences subordinates through personal qualities.

Dynamic and continuous process.

Support from all.

Promotion of interest in work.

Existence of subordinates and common interests.

Achievement of objectives.

Leadership is situational.

Assumes obligation.

Interaction with followers.

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Types of Leaderships

Edwin Flippo has defined leadership type as “a pattern of behavior designed to integrate organizational and personal interest in pursuit of some objectives.” Important types of leadership are as below;

1. Autocratic Leadership

The autocratic leader takes decisions and expects other to execute them without any questions. Autocratic leadership has no place in professional management.

2. Democratic/Participative Leadership

Democratic leadership is constructive sympathetic towards subordinates. It creates participative management. The subordinates are loyal to democratic leader.

3. Laissez Faire or Free Style Leadership

Under this type guidance from the leadership is limited and many matters are left for the consideration and decisions by subordinate. This leader is rather indifferent to his responsibilities.

4. Functional/Intellectual Leadership

Functional leader is usually a professional expert with technical education, knowledge and practical experience. His knowledge makes him popular and he is able to divert energies of employees for achieving objectives.

5. Bureaucratic Leadership

Bureaucratic leadership is noticed in case of government departments, public bodies and public sector enterprises. It is not effective in the business world. Human element is lacking in such leadership.

6. Situational Leadership

An ideal leader studies the overall situations, draws conclusions and adopts the leadership style which is most appropriate to the prevailing situation. This is the essence of situational leadership. This leadership is the combination of all types of leadership.

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”The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.”- John Maxwell

2. Corporate Leadership

What is Corporate Leadership?

There is no proper definition about Corporate Leadership as such but one can always state the following;

Leadership is one of the important aspects of management. Corporate leadership is required to lead and guide the subordinates to perform organizational tasks effectively and efficiently.

The basis of good leadership is honorable character and selfless service to your organization. In your employees' eyes, your leadership is everything you do that effects the organization's objectives and their well being. Respected leaders concentrate on what they are [be] (such as beliefs and character), what they know (such as job, tasks, and human nature), and what they do (such as implementing, motivating, and provide direction).

What makes a person want to follow a leader? People want to be guided by those they respect and who have a clear sense of direction. To gain respect, they must be ethical. A sense of direction is achieved by conveying a strong vision of the future.

So in a nutshell -- you must be trustworthy and you have to be able to communicate a vision of where the organization needs to go.

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Factors of Corporate Leadership

There are four major factors:

FollowerDifferent people require different styles of leadership. For example, a new hire requires more supervision than an experienced employee. A person who lacks motivation requires a different approach than one with a high degree of motivation. You must know your people! The fundamental starting point is having a good understanding of human nature, such as needs, emotions, and motivation.

LeaderYou must have an honest understanding of who you are, what you know, and what you can do. Also, note that it is the followers, not the leader who determines if a leader is successful. If they do not trust or lack confidence in their leader, then they will be uninspired. To be successful you have to convince your followers, not yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed.

CommunicationYou lead through two-way communication. Much of it is nonverbal. For instance, when you "set the example," that communicates to your people that you would not ask them to perform anything that you would not be willing to do. What and how you communicate either builds or harms the relationship between you and your employees.

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SituationAll are different. What you do in one situation will not always work in another. You must use your judgment to decide the best course of action and the leadership style needed for each situation. For example, you may need to confront an employee for inappropriate behavior, but if the confrontation is too late or too early, too harsh or too weak, then the results may prove ineffective.

Various forces will affect these factors. Examples of forces are your relationship with your seniors, the skill of your people, the informal leaders within your organization, and how your company is organized.

Attributes of Corporate Leadership

To inspire your workers into higher levels of teamwork, there are certain things you must be, know, and, do. These do not come naturally, but are acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills; they are NOT resting on their laurels.

If you are a leader who can be trusted, then those around you will grow to respect you. To be such a leader, there is a Leadership Framework to guide you:

BE KNOW DO BE a professional. Examples: Be loyal to the organization, perform selfless service, take personal responsibility.

BE a professional who possess good character traits. Examples: Honesty, competence, candor, commitment, integrity, courage, straightforwardness, imagination.

KNOW the four factors of leadership - follower, leader, communication, situation.

KNOW yourself. Examples: strengths and weakness of your character, knowledge, and skills.

KNOW human nature. Examples: Human needs, emotions, and how people respond to stress.

KNOW your job. Examples: be proficient and be able to train others in their tasks.

KNOW your organization. Examples: where to go for help, its climate and culture, who the unofficial leaders are.

DO provide direction. Examples: goal setting, problem solving, decision making, planning.

DO implement. Examples: communicating, coordinating, supervising, evaluating.

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DO motivate. Examples: develop moral and esprit in the organization, train, coach, counsel.

Principles of Corporate Leadership

To help you be, know, and do; follow these principles of leadership;1. Be technically proficient - As a leader, you must know your job and have a solid

familiarity with your employees' tasks. 2. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions - Search for ways

to guide your organization to new heights. And when things go wrong, they always do sooner or later -- do not blame others. Analyze the situation, take corrective action, and move on to the next challenge.

3. Make sound and timely decisions - Use good problem solving, decision making, and planning tools.

4. Set the example - Be a good role model for your employees. They must not only hear what they are expected to do, but also see. We must become the change we want to see - Mahatma Gandhi

5. Know your people and look out for their well-being - Know human nature and the importance of sincerely caring for your workers.

6. Keep your workers informed - Know how to communicate with not only them, but also seniors and other key people.

7. Develop a sense of responsibility in your workers - Help to develop good character traits that will help them carry out their professional responsibilities.

8. Ensure that tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplished - Communication is the key to this responsibility.

9. Train as a team - Although many so called leaders call their organization, department, section, etc. a team; they are not really teams...they are just a group of people doing their jobs.

10. Use the full capabilities of your organization - By developing a team spirit, you will be able to employ your organization, department, section, etc. to its fullest capabilities.

Ready to Lead?

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“A business short on capital can borrow money and one with poor location can move. But a business short on leadership has little chance of survival”

-Warren Bennis

3. Role of Leaders

Introduction Leadership is one of the most important aspects of management. Effective leadership is

required to lead and guide the subordinates to perform organizational tasks effectively

and efficiently.

Role of Leaders The role/importance of leadership is reflected in the following functions:

1. Goal Setting: leader has to set the goals and objectives for his section or group.

Goal setting is one of the important functions of a leader. The goals may be set all

by himself, or he may take the help of his subordinates in setting the goals.

2. Developing Morale: one of the important functions of leader is to develop

morale in his subordinates. He always strives to keep his subordinates in a good

mood or high spirits. He always tries to develop positive in his subordinates.

3. Securing Willing Participation: the leader influences the subordinate to

work willingly towards group objectives. A good leader never uses force to make

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the subordinates work. As a good example on his part, he takes active part in the

activities of the group.

4. Motivates subordinates: a leader motivates subordinates for better

performance. He may provide unnecessary incentives – monetary incentives and /

or non-monetary incentives.

5. Organizes Resources: a leader has to make arrangements of the resources.

Such arrangement of resources is required to undertake activities.

6. Encourages Initiative: the leader encourages initiative among his

subordinates. He provides them with freedom to come up with new and

innovative suggestions and ideas. He creates a healthy environment in which the

subordinates take active interest in the accomplishment of objectives.

7. Developing Team Spirit: the leader co-ordinates the activities of his

subordinates. If there is any difference of opinion among his subordinates, he

strives to solve the differences. He makes every effort to develop team spirit in his

subordinates. A good leader does not believe in divide and rule policy.

8. Representation: the leader is the representative of his subordinates. He

represents his subordinates whenever there is a need to express their views with

higher authorities within or outside the organization.

9. Creating Confidence: a good leader creates confidence in his subordinates.

He makes them to accept and face challenges.

10. Providing Direction: an effective leader provides directions to his followers.

He provides necessary instructions and orders to perform properly towards the

achievements of goals.

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“The defining role of a leader is to sort out a message”

- Fortune

4. Leadership vs. Management

Leadership versus management, they are definitely two different

animals

The Difference between Management and Leadership

Leadership and management are two notions that are often used interchangeably.

However, these words actually describe two different concepts. In this section, we shall

discuss these differences and explain why both terms are thought to be similar.

Leadership is a facet of management

Leadership is just one of the many assets a successful manager must possess. Care must

be taken in distinguishing between the two concepts. The main aim of a manager is to

maximize the output of the organization through administrative implementation. To

achieve this, managers must undertake the following functions:

organization

planning

staffing

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directing

controlling

Leadership is just one important component of the directing function. A manager cannot

just be a leader; he also needs formal authority to be effective. "For any quality initiative

to take hold, senior management must be involved and act as a role model. This

involvement cannot be delegated."

In some circumstances, leadership is not required. For example, self motivated groups

may not require a single leader and may find leaders dominating. The fact that a leader is

not always required proves that leadership is just an asset and is not essential.

Differences in Perspectives

Managers think incrementally, whilst leaders think radically. "Managers do things right,

while leaders do the right thing." This means that managers do things by the book and

follow company policy, while leaders follow their own intuition, which may in turn be of

more benefit to the company. A leader is more emotional than a manager . "Men are

governed by their emotions rather than their intelligence." This quotation illustrates why

teams choose to follow leaders.

"Leaders stand out by being different. They question assumption and are suspicious of

tradition. They seek out the truth and make decisions based on fact, not prejudice. They

have a preference for innovation."

Subordinate as A Leader

Often with small groups, it is not the manager who emerges as the leader. In many cases

it is a subordinate member with specific talents who leads the group in a certain direction.

"Leaders must let vision, strategies, goals, and values be the guide-post for action and

behavior rather than attempting to control others."

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When a natural leader emerges in a group containing a manager, conflict may arise if

they have different views. When a manager sees the group looking towards someone else

for leadership he may feel his authority is being questioned.

Loyalty

Groups are often more loyal to a leader than a manager. This loyalty is created by the

leader taking responsibility in areas such as:

Taking the blame when things go wrong.

Celebrating group achievements, even minor ones.

Giving credit where it is due.

"The leader must take a point of highlighting the successes within a team, using charts or

graphs, with little presentations and fun ideas"

"Leaders are observant and sensitive people. They know their team and develop mutual

confidence within it."

The Leader Is Followed. The Manager Rules

A leader is someone who people naturally follow through their own choice, whereas a

manager must be obeyed. A manager may only have obtained his position of authority

through time and loyalty given to the company, not as a result of his leadership qualities.

A leader may have no organizational skills, but his vision unites people behind him.

Management Knows How It Works

Management usually consists of people who are experienced in their field, and who have

worked their way up the company. A manager knows how each layer of the system works

and may also possess a good technical knowledge. A leader can be a new arrival to a

company who has bold, fresh, new ideas but might not have experience or wisdom.

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Are You A Manager Or A Leader?

Although you may hear these two terms thrown out interchangeably, they are in fact two

very different animals complete with different personalities and worldviews.

By learning whether you are more of a leader or more of a manager, you will gain the

insight and self-confidence that comes with knowing more about yourself. The result is

greater impact and effectiveness when dealing with others and running your business.

We are going to take a look at the different personality styles in leadership versus

management, the attitudes each have toward goals, their basic conceptions of what work

entails, their relationships with others, and their sense of self (or self-identity) and how it

develops.

Last of all, we will examine leadership development and discover what criteria are

necessary for leaders to reach their full potential.

Difference in personality styles.

Managers - emphasize rationality and control; are problem-solvers (focusing on goals,

resources, organization structures, or people); often ask question, "What problems have

to be solved, and what are the best ways to achieve results so that people will continue to

contribute to this organization?"; are persistent, tough-minded, hard working, intelligent,

analytical, tolerant and have goodwill toward others.

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Leaders - are perceived as brilliant, but sometimes lonely; achieve control of themselves

before they try to control others; can visualize a purpose and generate value in work; are

imaginative, passionate, non-conforming risk-takers.

Different attitudes toward goals.

Managers - adopt impersonal, almost passive, attitudes toward goals; decide upon goals

based on necessity instead of desire and are therefore deeply tied to their organization's

culture; tend to be reactive since they focus on current information.

Leaders - tend to be active since they envision and promote their ideas instead of

reacting to current situations; shape ideas instead of responding to them; have a personal

orientation toward goals; provide a vision that alters the way people think about what is

desirable, possible, and necessary.

Conceptions of work.

Managers - view work as an enabling process; establish strategies and makes decisions

by combining people and ideas; continually coordinate and balance opposing views; are

good at reaching compromises and mediating conflicts between opposing values and

perspectives; act to limit choice; tolerate practical, mundane work because of strong

survival instinct which makes them risk-averse.

Leaders - develop new approaches to long-standing problems and open issues to new

options; first, use their vision to excite people and only then develop choices which give

those images substance; focus people on shared ideals and raise their expectations; work

from high-risk positions because of strong dislike of mundane work.

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Managers and leaders have very different relations with others.

Managers - prefer working with others; report that solitary activity makes them anxious;

are collaborative; maintain a low level of emotional involvement in relationships; attempt

to reconcile differences, seek compromises, and establish a balance of power; relate to

people according to the role they play in a sequence of events or in a decision-making

process; focus on how things get done; maintain controlled, rational, and equitable

structures ; may be viewed by others as inscrutable, detached, and manipulative.

Leaders - maintain inner perceptiveness that they can use in their relationships with

others; relate to people in intuitive, empathetic way; focus on what events and decisions

mean to participants; attract strong feelings of identity and difference or of love and hate;

create systems where human relations may be turbulent, intense, and at times even

disorganized.

The Self-Identity of managers versus leaders is strongly

influenced by their past.

Managers - report that their adjustments to life have been straightforward and that their

lives have been more or less peaceful since birth; have a sense of self as a guide to

conduct and attitude which is derived from a feeling of being at home and in harmony

with their environment; see themselves as conservators and regulators of an existing

order of affairs with which they personally identify and from which they gain rewards;

report that their role harmonizes with their ideals of responsibility and duty; perpetuate

and strengthen existing institutions; display a life development process which focuses on

socialization...this socialization process prepares them to guide institutions and to

maintain the existing balance of social relations.

Leaders - reportedly have not had an easy time of it; lives are marked by a continual

struggle to find some sense of order; do not take things for granted and are not satisfied

with the status quo; report that their "sense of self" is derived from a feeling of profound

separateness; may work in organizations, but they never belong to them; report that their

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sense of self is independent of work roles, memberships, or other social indicators of

social identity; seek opportunities for change (i.e. technological, political, or ideological);

support change; find their purpose is to profoundly alter human, economic, and political

relationships; display a life development process which focuses on personal mastery...this

process impels them to struggle for psychological and social change.

Distinguishing characters of managers and leaders

Managers LeadersManagers administer Leaders innovate

Managers ask how and when Leaders ask what and why

Managers focus on systems Leaders focus on people

Managers do things right Leaders do the right things

Managers maintain Leaders develop

Managers rely on control Leaders inspire trust

Managers have a short-term perspective Leaders have a longer-term

perspective

Managers accept the status-quo Leaders challenge the status-quo

Managers have an eye on the bottom line Leaders have an eye on the horizon

Managers imitate Leaders originate

Managers emulate the classic good soldier Leaders are their own person

Managers copy Leaders show originality

Conclusion

Managing and leading are two different ways of organizing people. The manager uses a

formal, rational method whilst the leader uses passion and stirs emotions. The choices

between leadership versus management are profound, and both are highly valuable to a

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strong organization. Leaders are a rare breed of people that are self motivated and seek

knowledge. Leaders are readers and leaders yearn to learn.

Leadership differs from management because it makes the followers want to achieve high

goals, rather than simply bossing people around.

”Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether

the ladder is leaning against the right wall.”

- Stephen R. Cove

5. Traits to Lead

Introduction

These traits are applicable to all leaders, not just to those who must take men into the cauldron of combat. They are equally applicable to the successful businessperson, corporate executive or volunteer worker. They are just as important to the educator or administrator.

Leadership Qualities

Leadership qualities divided into following two categories;

1. Personal Traits

Bearing

Courage

Dependability

Endurance

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Enthusiasm

Initiative

Integrity

Loyalty

Tact

Unselfishness

Bearing The first trait is bearing. Bearing determines how you are seen by those you

would influence. Do not confuse bearing with some preconceived idea of proper dress. This is not about the quality of your clothes; it is about the person inside. It is about how you present yourself. It is about self-confidence. Are you worthy of attention? It is hard to give a leader a full measure of credence if you cannot get past a careless appearance or a timid deportment, which can denigrate confidence in the leader's message. Speaking directly, with confidence and with a carriage that says, "I know what I'm talking about," is an important trait for successful leadership.

Courage The next trait is courage. Courage comes in two forms: physical and moral.

Although we certainly hope that there is no need for physical courage on our campuses, moral courage is a fundamental requirement of all effective leaders. Moral courage is a commitment to doing what is right. A leader must commit to inviolate principles; there is no room for situational ethics. Leaders worthy of respect do the right thing, in the right way, for the right reasons. Young people who are still struggling with the development of such qualities within their own character respect honesty, trustworthiness, equity, and honor. They respect leaders who stand up for what is right.

Dependability Another basic tenet of leadership is dependability. Can you be depended on? The

meaning seems clear enough. Students must be able to depend on the faculty to manage the institution, to be on time for class, and to perform the perfunctory duties associated with their positions. But leadership also requires more. Those being led need leaders who are genuinely concerned for the welfare of those they are leading. They need role models. Leaders do not have jobs to which they come and then leave. Leaders must be dependable people - all the time.

Endurance Endurance is a trait easily associated with the rigors of combat. It conjures images

of physical stamina and sustained hardship. But endurance can also mean patience. It can mean going the distance with a person who is struggling. It can mean taking the long

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view for the greater good of an institution. Endurance, as the word implies, means staying with things, even when the going gets rough.

Enthusiasm Enthusiasm is a trait easily identifiable in successful leaders of all walks of life. It

is easy to infuse energy when you exude energy. Enthusiasm is more than just attitude, however. It permeates the work at hand. Routine lectures become interesting presentations and tedious projects become intriguing endeavors. Enthusiasm is contagious - and doubly so when it originates from a figure whom people respect.

Initiative A leader who simply does what he or she has been assigned to do will not be seen

as much of a leader. But anyone who displays a high degree of initiative is instantly recognized as a leader. Are you satisfied with the status quo or can you think and act outside of the box? Throughout the history of our country, those who have offered vision, who have acted insightfully, have been our greatest leaders. Initiative sets you apart.

Integrity Integrity is closely related to moral courage. But whereas moral courage is

centered on the willingness to take action, integrity is a spotlight into your soul. Integrity is more than the manifestation of your honesty. It is the litmus test of respect - it determines whether you will be taken seriously or not. Fail the integrity test in a young person's eyes and you will fail to be a positive influence on them.

Loyalty Loyalty is an interesting leadership trait. You cannot build or gather loyalty. It

must be given to you freely by those you lead. You can ask much from them, but you cannot tell them to be loyal. You earn loyalty in two ways. First you exhibit character worthy of loyalty. Your reputation is important. We follow those we admire and respect. Second, to be worthy of allegiance you must exhibit loyalty yourself. Loyalty flows two ways. If you are not sincere in caring about those over whom you have authority, how can you expect them to care about you or what you are trying to accomplish?

Tact Leaders must use tact. This is a simple enough concept, but it often is not so

simple to execute. Good people skills go a long way in the art of leadership. There are many ways to convey a message. No one appreciates an uncaring dismissal or a careless evaluation. Often the meaning of our message can be overpowered by its poor presentation. Where and how we communicate can be as important as the words themselves. The old adage of praise in public and reprimand in private is an axiom of effective leadership.

Unselfishness Finally, leaders must be unselfish. Unselfishness is instantly recognized and

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appreciated. It manifests itself in many forms, from taking the time to properly prepare for class to being accessible after hours. Subordinates and followers need to know that their leader has their best interests at heart. This should be an especially easy trait for those who have committed themselves to education. Yet remember that in leadership, perception is nearly as important as reality. You know you have their best interests at heart, but that is not enough. They must know it, too.

2. Managerial Traits

Decisiveness

Judgment

Knowledge

Sense of Justice

Decisiveness Decisiveness is easy to understand, but sometimes difficult to achieve. Some of us

are inherently decisive, and some of us are not. But regardless of your personality, decisiveness is an important part of leadership. Do not, however, confuse decisiveness with inflexibility. There is a difference between changing a course of action on the basis of developing conditions and just failing to be consistent. Whether the concern is personnel policies, combat decisions, or sticking to deadlines for the submission of a project, the ability to be decisive has a direct impact on how the leader is accepted.

Judgment Leaders exercise sound judgment. This is particularly important on those

occasions when you are out in front, taking the initiative. It is critical that a leader's decisions be based on all the available facts. It is important that rational and comprehensive thought be included in the decision-making process. Decisions boil down to a matter of judgment and sometimes the key to sound judgment is taking the time to duly consider the issue at hand. This approach is not at odds with being decisive. It is at odds with acting hastily.

Knowledge To lead others, you must know your business. Whether a platoon commander, an

instructor, or an administrator, a leader must have a degree of resident knowledge in his or her respective field. We who are leaders know that one of the keys to our effectiveness is staying current in our profession. We accomplish this through continual self-improvement. We read. We attend seminars and take courses. We listen. Knowledge is perishable, but the building of knowledge is also easy. Unlike bearing, decisiveness, or

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even enthusiasm, knowledge can be acquired equally by introverts and extroverts alike. All it takes is commitment.

Sense of Justice Sense of justice is an all-important trait. There are few quicker ways to lose a

following than to appear arbitrary, partial, or unfair. Standards are critical. Set them, articulate them, model them, and hold everyone to the same measure equally. Young people will respond. They are comfortable in an environment in which they know the boundaries. We all like to know what is expected of us, and the consequences of failing.

Remember, just as a muscle needs exercise to remain strong, so does a skill. There is no such thing as a natural born leader. People become leaders through experience and effort.

“At the end of the day, you bet on people, not on strategies”

- Larry Bossidy

6. Problems & Tips

Problems

Tough at the top - article by economist.com print edition, on 23rd Oct

2003 states the following;

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CORPORATE leaders are having a rotten time. Accounting scandals, lavish pay

increases and collapsing stockmarkets have conspired to turn the world against them.

They are regarded with cynicism and mistrust everywhere. In America, the bosses of big

companies command only slightly more respect in public-opinion polls than used-car

salesmen. Rebuilding lost trust will be slow work.

At the same time, leaders of large companies are increasingly in the public gaze. A

company's boss is now expected to take personal responsibility for its fortunes as never

before. This is reflected not just in new corporate-governance rules, but also in the way

that financial markets scrutinise the appointment of a new corporate boss and that

companies feel they have to defend executive pay packages.

Yet the task of a corporate leader has never been more demanding. This is partly because

of changing corporate structures. Big companies often operate in many countries or

product markets, and joint ventures, outsourcing and alliances add further complexity.

Layers of middle management have gone, so that more divisions report directly to the

person at the top. The pace of innovation is quicker, new technologies have to be applied

faster and product life-cycles have become shorter.

Corporate leaders are struggling to keep up momentum in their businesses when

economic activity is sluggish. They also need time to spend with the people they lead: for

more and more businesses, the abilities of a relatively small number of people are thought

to be the key to success, and retaining and developing their talents is vital. Swamped with

e-mails (which some of them answer themselves), voicemails and demands for

appearances on breakfast television and at grand dinners, many corporate leaders find it

harder and harder to make time to think.

In addition, for anyone in charge of a large quoted company, the level of outside scrutiny

—whether by government, consumer groups, the press or the financial markets—is far

beyond anything a corporate leader would have been subjected to in the past. For many

bosses, this sense of managing in a goldfish bowl has become particularly onerous.

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Whatever the reason, people have come to expect more from corporate leaders.

This gap between expectations and reality has helped to sweep corporate heroes from

their pedestals.

The mistrust of big companies is obvious for all to see.

Do leaders matter?

How great is the impact of the few thousand people who run the world's main private

companies? Large companies are among society's most important institutions. In the

hero-worshipping 1990s, such bosses attracted immense adulation. Now the fashion is

changing. “Humility is in, arrogance is out,” “They are no longer bragging. There is more

emphasis on underpromising and overdelivering,”

But people still think that it matters who runs a company. “In the old days, I would have

said it was capital, history, the name of the bank. Garbage—it's about the guy at the top.”

If anything, such views are gaining ground.

There have been few systematic attempts to discover what impact an individual corporate

leader has on a company's performance, but last year two economists, Marianne Bertrand

at Chicago University's business school and Antoinette Schoar at the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology (MIT),published a paper on the subject. They found that

managers of similar businesses ran their companies in very different ways, which made a

big difference to performance. Some managers, for instance, held more cash and less

debt, and some made above-average numbers of acquisitions. These tended to perform

worse than their peers.

Mr Nohria, together with colleagues at Harvard Business School, has gone one step

further. He has looked at a group of companies over 20 years, during which time they had

an average of three CEOs. The difference these bosses made varied greatly from one

industry to another, from a high in hotels and motels, where the impact of the leader

explained 41% of a firm's profitability, to a low of 4.6% in paper manufacture. On

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average, the leader accounted for about 14% of a company's performance. The effect is

greater in declining industries, where a relative lack of buyers or suppliers limits

corporate choices.

Hero-worshippers may feel that a 14% difference in performance is scant reward for their

idol's efforts. But two other academics at Harvard Business School, Anita McGahan and

Michael Porter, calculated a few years ago that the industrial sector in which a company

operated explained only 19% of its profitability. The implication is that, for a corporate

board, a decision to choose a new CEO is almost as important as a decision to switch

sectors.

This survey will concentrate mainly on leaders at the top of the corporate tree. It will look

at the forces that shape them, at the way they are chosen, and at what happens when they

fail. It will argue that having a grand vision is often less important than getting things

done. But because these leaders set the ethical tone in their business, they can play a big

part in helping to regain the public trust that has been lost in recent years. Capitalism

depends on trust, so this is a truly important job.

What Are The Organizational Issues That Will Challenge Tomorrow's

Leaders?

OrWhat Worries CEOs’?

Competitors' Strategies (18%)

Managing People (17.2%)

Keeping Up With Technology (13%)

Managing Growth (12.5%)

Managing Money (12.3%)

Raising Enough Money (9.0 %)

Government Legislation (7.0%)

Meeting Orders (3.3%)

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Lawsuits (2.0%)

Other (5.7%)

The Nine Dilemmas Leaders Face (Fortune March 18, 1996)

Broad-based Leadership vs. High-visibility Leaders

Independence vs. Interdependence

Long-term vs. Short-term

Creativity vs. Discipline

Trust vs. Change

Bureaucracy Busting vs. Economies of Scale

People vs. Productivity

Leadership vs. Capability

These are the problems faced by the leaders in the organization today. There are some

tips offered as solutions to the same.

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”Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”- Henry Ford

Tips

Introduction

While leadership is easy to explain, leadership is not so easy to practice.

Leadership is about behavior first, skills second. Good leaders are followed chiefly

because people trust and respect them, rather than the skills they possess. Leadership is

different to management. Management relies more on planning, organizational and

communications skills. Leadership relies on management skills too, but more so on

qualities such as integrity, honesty, humility, courage, commitment, sincerity, passion,

confidence, positivity, wisdom, determination, compassion and sensitivity. Leadership

can be performed with different styles. Some leaders have one style, which is right for

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certain situations and wrong for others. Some leaders can adapt and use different

leadership styles for given situations.

Today, the world is more transparent and connected than it has ever been. The actions

and philosophies of organizations are scrutinized by the media and the general public as

never before. This coincides with massively increased awareness and interest among

people everywhere in corporate responsibility and the many related concepts. The

modern leader needs to understand and aspire to leading people and achieving greatness

in all this areas.

Philosophy is the platform on which great leadership is built. Get the philosophy right,

and the foundation is strong. Ignore the philosophy and all that follows here will be built

on sand.

The Seven Secrets to New Age Leadership

Did you ever notice that, we have the tendency to look outside of ourselves for

leadership? That’s a trap. Isn’t it time we looked inside ourselves to see how we can be

the leader we want and need to be in the 21st century?

Following are the seven traits of successful leaders for the 21st Century;

Creative thinker - Einstein said, “The world we have created is a product of our

way of thinking” Nothing will change in the future without fundamentally new

ways of thinking.

If we want to create a new world we have to first change our thinking and thinking

patterns. 80% of the population thinks reactively. They take action to make something go

away (usually a problem.) The other 20% are creative thinkers – they take action to make

something come into being (the creation.)

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Creative thinkers thrive on the question “What’s Possible?” Reactive thinkers ask,

“What’s wrong?” or “Who’s to blame?” Reactive thinkers live in reaction and response

to circumstances. Creative thinkers go beyond circumstances.

Change readiness - The Change-ready individual embraces change. They

understand the process of change and how it affects most people, and is skilled at

enrolling people in it with a minimum amount of fear.

Most people do resist change – that’s because it forces us right out of our comfort zones.

A leader knows how to move people out of their comfort zones with dignity and respect.

He helps people share a “common understanding” of the past and why they need to

change it and then provides them with a positive image of their future along with actions

they can all agree will move them in the right direction.

A Landscape Architect - It’s her primary job to build a living environment–

called culture. Culture is the soul of the enterprise. Today’s leader is a master

“culture-crafter.” He or she sculpts and crafts an environment that stimulates,

excites and invites people to be the best they can be.

The architect leader knows that the ability to create a nourishing and challenging

environment for people to grow in is more important than any technical skill she can

possess.

Continuous Improvement - The leader of tomorrow will regularly challenge old

beliefs and be passionate about learning and about applying that learning in the

real world. She will often ask my favorite question “Who is doing something

differently then I am and what can I learn from them?”

Authentic - How and who you are, is just as important as what you know! Hold

yourself to the highest standards – don’t talk the talk unless you are prepared to

walk the walk. Don’t expect of others what you don’t expect from your self. Be

real, tell the truth. The leaders that are the most revered are those that let the light

of who they are shine through in all they do. They are honest, forthright and clear.

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A Coach/Facilitator – A leader needs to be a coach not a commander. He needs

to hold space open for things to happen. It is said that when leaders do their job

properly people believe they have done it themselves. Leaders are there to help

people see things from a different perspective, to provide questions that encourage

learning and to help turn work experiences into learning experiences.

A Visionary - It’s clearly documented that visionary leaders are successful at

mobilizing human potential. A vision provides focus. It’s a tool for aligning

energy. Clear vision and purpose provide people with a framework from which to

make decisions, it organizes action and effort.

Clearly a need for a new leadership style exists. Take a good look at your style and see if

you are prepared for living and leading in the 21st century.

Leadership Tips - Jack Welch Style

Jack Welch, respected business leader and writer is quoted as proposing these

fundamental leadership principles:

1. There is only one way - the straight way. It sets the tone of the organization.

2. Be open to the best of what everyone, everywhere, has to offer; transfer learning

across your organization.

3. Get the right people in the right jobs - it is more important than developing a

strategy.

4. An informal atmosphere is a competitive advantage.

5. Make sure everybody counts and everybody knows they count.

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6. Legitimate self-confidence is a winner - the true test of self-confidence is the

courage to be open.

7. Business has to be fun - celebrations energize and organization.

8. Never underestimate the other guy.

9. Understand where real value is added and put your best people there.

10. Know when to meddle and when to let go - this is pure instinct.

In Closing

A great leader keeps the objective clear and uncomplicated, always acts as a role model,

and stands back, letting others get on with their assignments.

If leadership has done its homework, everyone in the organization will arrive at the

objective simultaneously.

Essential to the process is an understanding of the distinction between management and

leadership.

Management ensures that things get done right, creating process and systems and

insuring efficiency. A manager manages the process and records the efficiency.

Leadership revolves around people, concepts and ideas, establishing direction for those

who will follow. It is discerning and articulating what is right, all the while educating the

team to do the right things and to do them right.

Manage the process, lead the people, and educate them along the way -

commonsense.

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”Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”- Robert Francis Kennedy

7. Leaders In Indian Corporate

Narayana Murthy

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IntroductionNarayana Murthy is undoubtedly one of the most famous persons from Karnataka. He is

known not just for building the biggest IT empire in India but also for his simplicity.

Almost every important dignitary visits Infosys campus. The beauty about his family is

that they believe in sharing their wealth with the needy. We wish the leading film actors

in Karnataka had followed his footsteps.

He feels we need to review our reservation policy. He expressed this on Aug 11, 2001

during the convocation address at IIT, Delhi. He says perhaps we are the only nation in

the world were people fight to be called backward rather than forward.

We thank him for bringing India on the world's IT map and providing jobs to thousands.

Here is his brief bio:

Mr. Narayana Murthy was born on August 20, 1946 in Karnataka, India. He obtained his

Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (B.E.) from University of Mysore in 1967 and his

Master of Technology (M.Tech.) from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur in

1969.

He founded Infosys in 1981 along with six software professionals. He is the Chairman of

the Board and Chief Mentor Officer of Infosys.

He was a member of the operating system team that designed real time operating system

for handling air cargo for Charles de Gaulle airport, Paris. He was the President of

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National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) from 1992 to

1994.

Mr. Murthy is a member of the National Information Technology Task Force of India,

and also of the Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry. He is a Director on the

board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman, Infosys Technologies Ltd

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An Indian IT chief who's really made it big without dropping his ethical precepts by the

wayside is Nagawara Ramarao Narayana Murthy, Chairman of Infosys. Born in 1946,

Murthy's father was a schoolteacher in Kolar district, Karnataka, India. A bright student,

Murthy went on to acquire a degree in Electrical Engineering from Mysore University

and later studied Computer Science at the IIT, Kanpur, India.

The Infosys legend began in 1981 when Narayana Murthy dreamt of forming his own

company, along with six friends. There was a minor hitch, though-he didn't have any seed

money. Luckily, like many Indian women who save secretly without their husband's

knowledge, his wife Sudha-then an engineer with Tatas-had saved Rs 10,000. This was

Murthy's first big break.

The decade until 1991 was a tough period when the couple lived in a one-room house.

The second break came in 1991 when Indian doors to liberalization were flung open…

Murthy grabbed the opportunity with both hands and has never looked back ever since

Today, Infosys is the first Indian company to be listed on the US NASDAQ.

While working in France in the 1970s, Murthy was strongly influenced by socialism. The

bubble was pricked, however, when he was arrested in Bulgaria on espionage charges.

Today, he says: "I'm a capitalist in mind, a socialist at heart." It was this belief in the

distribution of wealth that made Infosys one of the first Indian companies to offer

employees stock-option plans. Infosys now has 400 employees who are dollar

millionaires.

In a poll conducted by Asiaweek, the quiet, soft-spoken man was selected one of the 50

most powerful people in Asia for 2000. And 50 per cent of the respondents in an online

poll conducted by The Economic Times voted him the best CEO of India.

Heading a company with the largest market capitalization hasn't changed Murthy's life-

style much. The man still doesn't know how to drive a car! On Saturdays-his driver's

weekly off-the Infosys chief is driven to the bus stop by his wife, from where he boards a

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company bus to work! Incidentally, Sudha Murthy is now chief of the Infosys

Foundation, which channels Rs 50 million into charity every year.

Simplicity, humility and maintaining a low profile are the hallmarks of this super-rich

Bangalorean. And the man is principled to a fault. Murthy's unprecedented wealth has

catapulted him into the public glare. After the kidnapping of Dr Rajkumar by forest

brigand Veerappan, the Home Ministry has sounded out the local government about

providing Z-category security to Murthy and Premji. Both characteristically turned down

the offer.

In a letter to the police top brass last month, Murthy said he was a simple man who had

no intentions of annoying his neighbors and disturbing traffic with an intrusive entourage

of security vehicles and personnel.

- By Clifford Sawhney

Awards

Mr. Murthy has received several honors and awards;

1. The ET Businessperson Of The Year Award [2000-2001]

2. The Max Schmidheiny Award - 2001

3. He has been featured in the Asiaweek Power 50 (June 2000) - a list of Asia's Most

Powerful People

4. He has been named by Business Week as one of the Top Entrepreneurs of the

Year 1999.

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5. He was chosen as the Business India's "Businessman of the Year 1999", the

Indian corporate world's most coveted award.

6. Business Week chose him as one of "The Stars of Asia" for three successive

years, in 1998, 1999 and 2000

7. He has been awarded the JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award for 1996-97

8. He has been conferred with the Distinguished Alumni Award for the year 1998 by

the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

9. He is the Co-Chairman of the Indo-British Partnership

10. He is a member of the Asia Society's International Council and Board of

Councilors of the University of Southern California School of Engineering. He is

also on the Wharton Business School's Asian Executive Board

Today, Infosys is acknowledged by customers, employees, investors and the general

public as a highly respected, dynamic and innovative company. In March 1999, Infosys

Technologies became the first India-registered company to be listed on an American

stock exchange (NASDAQ: INFY).

From a Scratch to the Giant

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NEW DELHI: Beginning this week, we dip into our archives to bring you articles on

leadership issues. This week, we feature Infosys chief N R Narayana Murthy. Excerpts

from his speech at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

The Infosys Way…

N R NARAYANA MURTHY

Today, my mind goes back to a sultry, fateful morning in July 1981, to my meeting with

the other six founders of Infosys. The seven of us had forsaken - at least as it then

appeared to our friends and families - safe and promising corporate careers.

We were huddled together in a small room in Mumbai in the hope of creating a brighter

future for ourselves, for Indian society and, perhaps, we dreamed, even for the world.

Confidence, commitment, passion, hope, energy, enthusiasm and the capacity for hard

work were available in plenty. However, money was in short supply. We struggled to put

together a princely sum of $250 as our initial seed capital. We were helped in this by our

ever-enthusiastic bankers - our generous wives. Our enthusiasm can be expressed in the

words of Eleanor Roosevelt who said: "The future belongs to those who believe in the

beauty of their dreams".

We knew our dream had to be based on a lofty vision, something larger than ourselves.

Our vision was and is to be a globally respected software corporation providing best-in-

class business solutions employing best-of-breed professionals. I have realized, over the

years, that a powerful vision expressed as a simple sentence, capturing the core of our

values and aspirations, enthuses generation after generation of employees in the

company. The beauty of a simple yet powerful vision is that it is easy to understand, to

communicate, to share and to move towards. We built Infosys on three key concepts --

the criticality of customized software in creating competitive advantage for a corporation,

globalization and professionalisation of the corporation.

Every successful company is built on an idea that is taken seriously in the marketplace.

For this, an idea has to achieve one or more of the following: improve customer

satisfaction, reduce cost, reduce cycle time, improve productivity, increase customer

base, or improve comfort level of customers. Strategy, an important building block of

success, is all about becoming unique in a marketplace. This requires that every

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corporation build this uniqueness into its business rules and models. These rules and

models become embedded in the information systems of the company. Thus, there was, is

and will be considerable opportunity in creating customized software.

While we had a good idea, the market for the idea did not exist in India. Thus, we had to

embrace globalization. I believe globalization is about sourcing capital from where it is

cheapest, producing where it is most cost-effective, and selling where it is most

profitable, all without being constrained by national boundaries. When we founded the

company, we knew that India, with its vast pool of English-speaking, analytically strong

technical talent and the excellent work ethic among its professionals, had the essential

ingredients for global success in customized software development.

Thus, our idea was to produce software in India for clients in the G-7 countries. Our

approach, while distinctive, was far from unique; companies in industries such as textiles

and semiconductors were following similar strategies. Since we co-founders had been

professionals before we started Infosys, we wanted to build a company of professionals,

for professionals and run by professionals, to borrow the words of President Abraham

Lincoln who used them to describe US democracy. Accordingly, it was our belief that the

first duty of a corporation is to uphold respect and dignity for the individual. Right from

day one, we eschewed any transaction that created asymmetry of benefits between the

founder-employees and other employees.

Our core corporate assets walk out every evening, mentally and physically tired. It is our

duty to make sure that these assets return well rested, energetic and enthusiastic the next

morning. Our respect for our professionals can be summed by our belief that the market

capitalization of Infosys becomes zero after working hours end at 5 pm, no matter what it

was during the day. A strong team is essential for every successful entrepreneurial

experiment to succeed. A strong team brings together a set of complementary skills,

expertise and experience.

Today, the venture capitalists backing entrepreneurs help create such teams by

connecting them with prospective key-employee-networks. However, in those days, we

did not have any VCs in India. We ourselves had to bring together people who had some

experience in human resources, finance, strategy, technology, project management,

software development, and sales and marketing. In addition to complementary skills, it is

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essential that the team operates on a common value system and maintains the dignity and

respect of every individual in every transaction.

The motto for workplace interactions at Infosys has always been: You can disagree with

me as long as you are not disagreeable. During the initial days, we faced tremendous

challenges attempting to do business in India. To illustrate, it took us a year to obtain a

telephone connection, two years to get a license to import a computer, and 15 days to get

foreign currency for travel abroad. Thus, the first 10 years of our marathon seemed

interminable and frustrating. Although we managed to keep our heads above water, we

were floundering. However, the positive aspect of these years was that we learned to

plough through adversity, and, I hope, we became better managers and better human

beings.

The fuel that kept us going was our passion to make a difference. Even today, I believe

that our passion is more important than our finances. Louis Pasteur once said: ``Chance

favors the prepared mind''. Thus, as we were struggling along, the Indian economic

reforms of 1991 came as a heaven-sent opportunity for us at Infosys. These watershed

reforms - likened by some to the winning of economic freedom, on the lines of the

securing of political freedom from British rule in 1947 - changed the Indian business

context from one of state-centered, control orientation to a free, open market orientation,

at least for hi-tech companies.

We, at Infosys, leveraged the positives of liberalization, the opening up of the Indian

economy, and we have never looked back. In fact, I take quiet pride in how Infosys has

become a shining example of all the good that came out of India's economic reforms. The

lesson from the Indian experience is a clear clarion call for all who are willing to listen:

free trade can bring great benefits to society.

Blissful Knowledge

The Infosys value system can be captured in one line - the softest pillow is a clear

conscience. A company's value system is the guiding light in its hours of darkness. It

builds confidence, peace of mind, and enhances enthusiasm during tough times. The

importance you attach to your value system is reflected in the cost you are willing to

incur for your beliefs and convictions. At Infosys, we have stood firm whenever our

value system was tested. We knew that taking short cuts that compromise our values

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would be detrimental.

Every company has to recognize its strategic resources, and ensure their long-term

supply. In our case, human intellect, technology and processes are the three key

resources. We operate in a domain where customer preferences and technology change

rapidly and business models, paradigms and rules quickly become obsolete. Success at

Infosys depends on our ability to recognize and assimilate these changes and bring

business value to our customers by leveraging the assimilated knowledge.

Thus, learnability is critical for us. We define learnability as the ability to extract generic

inferences from specific instances and to use them in new, unstructured situations.

Infosys' longevity will depend on how well we build on our people resources. The biggest

challenge for a knowledge company like Infosys is to recruit, enable, and retain the

brightest talent. We realized that we had to make a value proposition to our employees, as

we did for our customers. Speed, imagination and excellence in execution are the three

time-invariant and context-invariant attributes of a successful corporation.

The constant challenge is to move from information to insight. The future winners will be

those firms that escape from the gravitational pull of the past on the fuel of innovation.

This implies that every corporation has to create incentives for people to be innovative at

all times. The best incentive for innovation is proactive obsolescence by wide

dissemination. Such a proactive step helps a corporation to remain a leader in its field.

We have realized over the years that solutions to most of our problems lie within

ourselves. Rationalization of failure is simply a sign of weakness. The fuel of

achievement comes from aspirations that are higher than the status quo. Leadership,

therefore, is all about raising the aspirations of followers. The best form of leadership is

leadership by example. In a knowledge company whose core competencies include

human intellect and learning, leaders have to walk the talk.

In this global age, leaders in the business world can come from anywhere. The best ideas

will dominate, regardless of their national origins. It is in this competitive global regime

that the best hopes and aspirations of India rest. It goes without saying that many

challenges lie ahead, but I am sanguine about the future role that human-resource-rich

countries like India will play.

A well-run corporation embraces and practices a sound Predictability-Sustainability-

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Profitability-De-risking (PSPD) model. A good forecasting system for sales based on data

gathered ensures predictability.

Sustainability is achieved by motivated salespeople who make sales happen; by

production people ensuring that quality products are delivered on time; and by billing and

collecting on time.

Every enterprise must focus on high profitability in order to ensure the best returns for its

shareholders. Indeed, profitability is crucial for the long-term success of a corporation.

Finally, the corporation must have a good de-risking approach that recognizes measures

and mitigates risk along every dimension.

Having emphasized the importance of de-risking, I must add that I do not want to

dissuade you from taking risks. Take them you must, but carefully thought-out risks.

Another lesson that is anchored in the Infosys experience concerns governance.

Corporate governance is focused on maximizing shareholder value while ensuring

fairness to all stakeholders. In these days of free flowing global capital, in order to attract

capital, corporations have to adhere to the best global standards of corporate governance.

The foundation of our corporate governance philosophy at Infosys is the belief that it is

better to lose a billion dollars than to act in ways that make one lose a night's sleep.

We also believe that it is a good practice to under-promise and over-deliver. It is best to

deliver bad news to the stakeholders proactively. This creates goodwill, as they

understand that ups and downs are inevitable in every business. What they value is honest

and open managements.

Quick progress comes in an environment that respects competence, where there is

competition and where there are no prejudices. Infoscions have respect for our

competitors and a sense of humility about what we have achieved. We remember that

success is, generally, ephemeral. We are only as good as the results we produce and we

believe in a long-term approach; our strategies and policies reflect that.

One of my strongest beliefs is that corporations have an important duty to contribute to

society. No corporation can sustain its progress unless it makes a difference to its context.

Let me now share a few words of advice with you based on my experiences:

I want to emphasize the importance of being trustworthy in your dealings. It is on such

foundations that great organizations are created.

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Fear is natural, but do not let your actions be totally governed by it. Just as fear may

sometimes be the voice of your intuition, it might also be an invitation to explore yourself

and the world.

A supportive family is the bedrock upon which lives and careers are built.

Learn how to manage yourself, separating the merits and demerits of a decision from the

accompanying feelings. Infoscions call this 'being transaction oriented'.

Live your life and lead your career in a way that makes a difference to your society.

I want to close with words that are vividly etched in my mind. Joseph Campbell, the great

American mythologist, when asked what he thought we were on this earth for, replied,

"Follow your bliss. All else will follow."

So, choose a worthy dream for yourself. Go after it confidently. But always, ensure that

you are following your bliss.

(The articles were published in The Times of India on June 20, 2001 and August 10,

2001, respectively)

Narayana Murthy - Most admired business leaderFriday, May 12 2006 14:23(IST)  

Bangalore, May 12: Software major Infosys Technologies Chief Mentor N R Narayana

Murthy has, for the fifth year running, emerged the most admired business leader of India

among Business Schools across the country.

The study conducted by Brand-Comm. , a leading Brand Consulting, Advertising and PR

firm, also found Infosys to be the most attractive company.

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Mr. Narayana Murthy the study says is popular among 42 per cent of 545 students from

13 top notch Business Schools, including IIMs, with the next best being Mr. Ratan Tata

who was way behind with Nine per cent.

Breaking into the top ten business leaders this year was UB Group head Vijay Mallya.

Perhaps the popularity of the Kingfisher Airlines had boosted him to the top rung from no

where, Mr. Ramanuham Sridhar, CEO of Brand Comm. told newsmen here today.

Mr. Narayana Murthy is admired by Business School students for being a socially

responsible individual and is being look up as a leader who was honest and passionate

about his work.

The clarity and consistency in Mr. Narayana Murthy's personal branding and positioning

seem to have been highly effective for the last five years, the study says.

Mr. Sridhar said the changing face of Indian economy seems to have triggered the entry

of a whole new set of business leaders into the top ten this year. With the retail industry

seeing a boom, Badshah of Retail, Kishore Biyani had found his way to the top ten of the

most admired B school leaders. Other new names having a mention were Mr. Subroto

Bagchi of MindTree Consulting, Air Deccan Managing Director G R Gopinath Mr. K V

Kamath of ICICI and Infosys CEO Nandan Nilekani.

Late Dirubhai Ambani takes the third slot followed by Ambani siblings Anil and Mukesh.

together the Ambanis logged seven per cent. Wipro Chairman Azim Premji was behind

them securing five per cent and in the same bracket were Vijay Mallya, and

Kumaramangalam Birla.

Tatas were second among the most attractive company with Nine per cent followed by

Wipro, Mckensey, ICICI (all three per cent), MindTree, Reliance, Hindustan Lever and

ITC with two per cent.

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Narayana Murthy retires from Infosys Sunday, August 20 2006 17:06 (IST)  

Bangalore, Aug 20 (UNI) Bringing his illustrious corporate career to an end, IT major

Infosys Chairman N R Narayana Murthy today retired from the service of the company,

which he had launched as a small firm in the city in 1981 and took it to enviable heights

in the last two and a half decades.

Mr. Murthy turned 60 today and as per the company's corporate governance policy, he

relinquished his executive post. However, he would continue as its non executive

Chairman from tomorrow.

Life would be the same for Mr. Murthy even after retirement as he would continue to be

busy bee. ''I will continue to do what I have been doing. I am already on the board of

some companies...I have joined some more. I travel abroad 20 to 22 days a month, I will

continue to do that,'' he told UNI in an interview.

Mr. Murthy, considered the czar of Indian software industry, launched Infosys with the

help of a handful of friends with each of them contributing a sum of Rs 10,000. From its

humble beginning, the company, under the able hands of Mr. Murthy, grew to be the

second biggest software exporter in India with a present market capitalization of 21

billion dollars. The annual income had grown to 2.15 billion dollars with 98 per cent of

its income coming from exports.

Infosys would now be headed by its senior most founding member Nandan Nilekani, who

was the CEO and MD. No decision had been taken on appointment of the new Chairman,

company sources said.

The IT major, which had started with staff strength of just over a dozen people, now had

more than 58,000 on its rolls in nearly 25 offices both in India and abroad.

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Narayana Murthy's dream for the future

August 12, 2005

India's software giant Infosys Technologies Limited has entered its 25th year of existence.

In these 25 years, the company has scaled many a peak, making the nation proud of it. N

R Narayana Murthy, Chairman, Infosys, however, has plans to turn the company into a

bigger, stronger, and global player. At an analysts' meet, held to mark the silver jubilee

celebrations of Infosys in Hyderabad, Murthy spoke about his future for the company.

Here's the speech that he delivered;

We start our 25th year celebrations today. It is indeed laudable that we have run this

marathon so far. Several happy thoughts come to my mind as I stand here. But, the most

important one is our meeting in January 1981.

How Infosys began

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It was a wintry morning in January 1981 when seven of us sat in my apartment, and

created Infosys. We had lots of hope, confidence, commitment, energy, enthusiasm, hard

work, passion and a sense of sacrifice.

We were short of one thing, money. We managed to put together just $250 in seed

capital.

We never dreamt about size, revenues and profits. Our dream, right from day one, was to

build a corporation that was, above all things, respected.

From the beginning, our team was unique in our commitment to a strong value system.

We believed in putting the interest of the company ahead of our own interest. We

believed in legal and ethical business.

We believed in respect and long-term gratification. And each of us brought

complementary strengths to the company.

'Entrepreneurship is a marathon'

To me, entrepreneurship is a marathon. I believe that the key to a successful corporation

is longevity – my heroes are companies like IBM, Levers, and GE. These firms have

shown growth in earnings quarter after quarter, for a long time.

Infosys itself has seen consistent growth in revenue and profitability for over 49 quarters,

since it got listed in India. We have institutionalized performance and accountability in

our systems and processes, and through the empowerment of our employees. Let me talk

about some of the generic lessons we have learnt.

The name of the game is: predictability of revenues; sustainability of the prediction;

profitability; and a good de-risking model. Measurement is key to improvement.

Value system

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A sound value system is what differentiates long-term players from others. Putting the

corporation's interest ahead of personal interest will advance personal goals in the long

term.

No single person is indispensable. It is important that you give challenging engagements

to deserving people, whether they are young or new in the organization. Youth and

empowerment are the keys to scalability and longevity.

Every situation is what you make it to be. Confidence is half the battle, and leadership is

making the impossible look possible. Speed, imagination and excellence in execution are

the only three context-invariant and time-invariant attributes for success.

Trust of employees, investors

The trust of employees is the most important ingredient for successful leadership. To gain

the trust of people, there is no more powerful leadership style than leadership by

example. The world respects performance and action, not rhetoric.

It is better to obsolete our own innovations, rather than allowing our competitors to do it.

A healthy sense of paranoia and respect for competition is an absolute must for success. It

prevents complacency, and ensures that the organization is learning continuously. The

ultimate test for customer satisfaction is making our customer look good in front of his /

her customer.

I have realized that if you want to look smarter, you must surround yourself with people

smarter than you. Everybody needs incentives to perform. Money is not the only

motivator; respect, dignity, fairness and inclusiveness are essential to get the best out of

employees. Every employee must feel an inch taller when talking about the company.

Being transaction-oriented in every decision avoids groupism. An emphasis on

meritocracy and data-orientation enhances the confidence of employees in the fairness of

the corporation. We believe in the adage, In God we trust, everybody else brings data to

the table.

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To retain the trust of your investors, it is better to under promise and over-deliver.

Investors understand that every business will have ups and downs, and want us to level

with them at all times. They want us give them bad news pro-actively and as early as

possible. Therefore, When in doubt, disclose.

We have realized that we should never take any decision with the stock price in mind.

The day we do this, we will ruin the company. Finally, we have realized that we can

shortchange investors if we want to make Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million), but if we want to

make Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion), we have to play the game straight and honest.

We have realized that longevity requires that we follow every law of the land, even if we

do not agree with it. We should work hard to change laws that hurt the progress of the

corporation.

Unless we make a difference to the society and earn their trust, we cannot be long-term

players. Therefore, in everything we do, we must ask ourselves whether we are adding

value to the society around us, regardless of where we are -- US or India.

'What I want Infosys to achieve in 25 years'

What do I want to see this company achieve in the next 25 years? I want this to be a place

where people of different races, nationalities and religious beliefs work together, in an

environment of intense competition but utmost courtesy and dignity, to add greater and

greater value to our customers, day after day. Just like we have received respect in India,

I want Infosys to be the most respected company in every country that it operates.

But, to achieve these dreams, we have to be in existence over the next 250 years. I know

we can do this for the following reasons:

We have an extraordinary leader in Nandan (Nandan Nilekani, Infosys CEO), a

man of great vision, values and dynamism. He is ably supported by the best

management team and professionals in the industry.

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We have a depth of leaders within the organization, with over 500 leaders being

part of our leadership training and mentoring programme.

The de-risking strategy at Infosys ensures that there is a backup for every

position, and that decision-making is participatory across the company. In other

words, it is not one person, but a team that looks at every decision. Thus, at

Infosys, it is the leadership of ideas and meritocracy that drives every decision.

Every decision is supported by a strong portfolio of systems, processes and

technology.

The value system of the company is time and context invariant.

We will continue to have the mindset of a small company even as we grow and

scale.

Finally, and most importantly, I see youth, the feel-good factor and confidence

around me.

This is why I am confident Infosys will continue to serve the society as a long-term

player.

Thank you.

N R Narayana Murthy

That's Narayana Murthy for you.

SIMPLE, SELFLESS, SUPER RICH

Azim Premji

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ProfileBorn: July 24, 1945

Achievements: Chairman of Wipro Technologies; Richest Indian for the past several

years; Honored with Padma Bhushan in 2005.

Azim Premji is Chairman of Wipro Technologies, one of the largest software companies

in India. He is an icon among Indian businessmen and his success story is a source of

inspiration to a number of budding entrepreneurs.

Born on July 24, 1945, Azim Hasham Premji was studying Electrical Engineering from

Stanford University, USA when due to the sudden demise of his father, he was called

upon to handle the family business. Azim Premji took over the reins of family business in

1966 at the age of 21.

At the first annual general meeting of the company attended by Azim Premji, a

shareholder doubted Premji's ability to handle business at such a young age and publicly

advised him to sell his shareholding and give it to a more mature management. This

spurred Azim Premji and made him all the more determined to make Wipro a success

story. And the rest is history.

When Azim Premji occupied the hot seat, Wipro dealt in hydrogenated cooking fats and

later diversified to bakery fats, ethnic ingredient based toiletries, hair care soaps, baby

toiletries, lighting products and hydraulic cylinders. Thereafter Premji made a focused

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shift from soaps to software.

Under Azim Premji's leadership Wipro has metamorphosed from a Rs.70 million

company in hydrogenated cooking fats to a pioneer in providing integrated business,

technology and process solutions on a global delivery platform. Today, Wipro

Technologies is the largest independent R&D service provider in the world.

Azim Premji has several achievements to his credit. In 2000, Asiaweek magazine, voted

Premji among the 20 most powerful men in the world. Azim Premji was among the 50

richest people in the world from 2001 to 2003 listed by Forbes. In April 2004, Times

Magazine rated him among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time

magazine. He is also the richest Indian for the past several years. In 2005, Government of

India honored Azim Premji with Padma Bhushan.

Leader at 21

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In 1966, at the age of 21, Premji took on the mantle of leadership of Wipro. He began his

stint in Wipro with a simple Vision – to build an organization on a foundation of Values.

Under his leadership, the fledgling $ 2 million hydrogenated cooking fat company has

grown to $2.1 billion IT Services organization serving customers across the globe. Wipro

is also one of the largest BPO services provider based in India. Wipro is today ranked

among the top 100 Technology companies globally (Business Week). Forbes counts

Wipro in its list of Fab 50 Firms of Asia. Wipro’s growth continues be driven by its core

Values.

Over the years, Azim Premji has received many honors and accolades, which he believes

are recognitions for each person who has contributed to Wipro. He was adjudged the

Business Man of the Year 2000 by Business India and as the Business Leader of the Year

2004 by the Economic Times. Financial Times included him in the global list of 25

people who are “dramatically reshaping the way people live, work or think” and have

done most to bring abut significant and lasting social, political or cultural changes

(October 2005, November 2004). Time listed him (April 2004) as one amongst 100 most

influential people in the world. He was named by Fortune (August 2003) as one of the 25

most powerful business leaders outside the US, Forbes (March 2003) listed him as one of

ten people globally, who have the most “power to effect change” and Business Week

(October 2003) featured him on their cover with the sobriquet “India’s Tech King”. In

2005 he became the first Indian recipient of the Faraday Medal.

The Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee and the Manipal Academy of Higher

Education have both conferred honorary doctorates on him, while XLRI, Jamshedpur has

conferred the Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal for Industrial and Social Peace. He is a non-

executive Director on the Board of the Reserve Bank of India. He is also a member of the

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Prime Minister’s Committee for Trade and Industry in India. In January 2005, the

Government of India conferred upon him the Padmabhushana, one of the highest civilian

awards in the country.

Premji firmly believes that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things. He

believes that the key to this is creating highly charged teams. He takes a personal interest

in developing teams and leaders. He invests significant time as a faculty in Wipro’s

leadership development programs.

Premji has a fanatical belief in delivering Value to the Customer through world-class

quality processes. This belief has driven Wipro’s pioneering efforts on Quality. Wipro

was the first Indian Company to embrace Six Sigma, the first Software Services

Company in the world to achieve SEI CMM Level 5 and it also became the world’s first

organization to achieve PCMM Level 5 (People Capability Maturity Model). Premji

equates Quality with Integrity – both being non-negotiable.

In the year 2001, Premji established Azim Premji Foundation, a not-for-profit

organization with a Vision of significantly contributing to quality universal education to

build a just, equitable and humane society. This means every child receiving quality

education. The financial resources to this foundation have been personally contributed by

Premji. The current programs of the Azim Premji Foundation engage 3.2 million children

across more than 17,000 schools.

Azim Premji is a graduate in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, USA.

January 17, 2005

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From soaps to IT

Azim Premji is the richest Indian and one of the few to have moved successfully from

being an owner of an inherited vegetable oils and soaps business to being an extremely

successful global IT business. The chairman and managing director of Wipro Ltd, that

became one of the three billion-dollar Indian IT enterprises in 2004, along with TCS and

Infosys.

However, this reticent, legendary businessman is famous for leading a simple lifestyle.

He always flies economy, avoids staying in 5-star hotels, and prefers clothes, watches and

cars that are made in India. He likes to talk about his corporation and the emerging

opportunities for Indian business rather than about himself. Premji has consistently

advocated the use of IT at all levels of society.

Born in Mumbai on 24 July 1945, his beginnings were very simple. At 21, Premji was

forced to leave his engineering studies at Stanford University in the US to take over the

family business of vegetable oils due to the unexpected passing away of his father in

1966. After a gap of over 30 years, Premji finally managed to take time off from his

rapidly expanding business to earn his degree in electrical engineering from Stanford.

Premji started off in Wipro with a simple vision – to build an organization on a

foundation of values. Under his leadership Wipro ventured into a continuous phase of

expansion and diversification with consolidation. In 1975, before venturing into IT, the

company diversified from vegetable oils to hydraulic cylinders and fluid power

components and its factory at Amalner was used for production of soaps, toiletries, and

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baby care products. Wipro also entered the lighting products market and started

manufacturing light bulbs with General Electric. But Premji's ambitions lay elsewhere.

Entry in to IT The Company entered the personal computer market in 1977, moving in to fill the void

by the withdrawal of IBM in 1977. Wipro started manufacturing computer hardware,

later moving in to software development under a special license from Sentinel, e-Security

Inc's security information management and compliance monitoring solution. The

company began selling and assembling products made by such well-known companies as

Canon, Epson, Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems.

As a result, the $1.5-million company in hydrogenated cooking fats grew within a few

years to a $1.76-billion diversified, integrated IT and ITeS Corporation. The company

offers software solutions, IT consulting, software design, and solutions, business process

outsourcing services, and research and development services in areas of hardware. With

offices in 45 countries, the company is the fourth largest in the world in terms of market

capitalization in IT services

Premji is a workaholic and according to him, in a competitive environment, work is the

only way to success and survival. An exacting taskmaster, he expects competence from

his people and though he is forgiving about genuine errors of judgment, he simply does

not tolerate obfuscation or deception.

Premji firmly believes that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things. He

believes that the key to this is creating highly charged teams. He takes a personal interest

in developing teams and leaders. He invests significant time as a faculty in Wipro's

leadership development programmes. He also makes it a point to deal directly with

customers as much as possible.

Premji strongly believes in delivering 'value to the customer' through world-class quality

processes. This belief has driven Wipro's pioneering efforts in quality practice adoption.

For instance, Wipro is the first software service company in the world to be assessed at

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SEI CMM level 5 – the highest maturity level for any software process. The company

earned this certification in June 1999. It is also the world's first organization to achieve

PCMM Level 5 (people capability maturity model).

As the pioneers of Six Sigma in India, Wipro has already put in around five years into

process improvement through Six Sigma. A measure of quality, Six Sigma is a

disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects (driving

towards six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit) in

any process – from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.

Uncompromising IntegrityPremji's adherence to integrity is legendary and he is known to be a stickler for it. He has

consistently refused to offer bribes to get things done; his oils business had to wait for 18

months to get an electrical substation for the vegetable manufacturing unit because he

refused to give in to demands for bribes. For 20 months the unit was run on captive

power generation, at an unbelievably high cost to the company. But Premji remained

steadfast, preferring the extra financial liability to breaking his strict code of adherence to

values Over the years Premji has received several honors and accolades, which he

believes are in recognition for the efforts of each person who has contributed to Wipro,

rather than any recognition for himself personally.

In 2000 he was voted among the "20 most powerful men in the world" by Asia Week. He

was also ranked among the "50 richest people in the world" from 2001 to 2003 according

to Forbes. Financial Times included him in the list of "top 25 billionaires who have done

most to bring about significant and lasting social, political or cultural changes". In April

2004, he was rated "among the 100 most influential people in the world" by Time

magazine and Business Week (October 2003) featured him on its cover with the sobriquet

"India's Tech King."

The Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee and the Manipal Academy of Higher

Education have both conferred honorary doctorates on him. He is also a member of the

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prime minister's advisory committee for IT in India. In 2005 the government of India

honored him with the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian awards in the country.

Philanthropy has been integral to Premji's vision of regenerating India. In the year 2001,

Premji established Azim Premji Foundation, a non-profit organization with the vision to

influence the lives of millions of children in India by providing them with quality

education. The foundation works closely with the state governments of Karnataka,

Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh among others, and its programmes cover over

5,000 rural schools. Premji has personally contributed the financial resources to this

foundation. The programmes of the Azim Premji Foundation currently engage 1.8 million

children under its various programmes.

One of his favorite recreational activities is hiking. He leads a quiet life with his wife

Yasmin, who has worked for Inside Outside magazine in an editorial capacity, and their

two sons in a simple, but elegant villa in Bangalore. The elder son, Rishad, works for GE

in the US and the younger one, Tariq, is the co-founder of a dotcom venture in

Bangalore.

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INDIA'S TECH KING

Azim Premji transformed a cooking oil company into an IT power. Now he's

expanding his global reach

Oct 13, 2003

At 4:30 a.m., a light switches on in Azim H. Premji's spacious stone bungalow in the

southern Indian city of Bangalore. The 57-year-old chairman of software-services

provider Wipro Ltd. is awake, fueling up on coffee and bombarding company

managers on four continents with e-mails about everything from geopolitics to

contract details. At 7, Premji walks the 250 meters to his office on Wipro's five-

hectare campus. There, he has breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast with visiting

customers or government officials. That's followed by meetings where he focuses on

the minutiae of the business -- the cost of airline tickets or whether frequent-traveling

Wipro salespeople should have permanent cubicles. Before the sun is overhead at

noon, Premji has already worked seven hours, with another seven to go. Frequently,

Premji ends his day on a commercial flight -- there is no corporate jet -- to Bombay,

San Francisco, London -- anywhere his sales team needs a boost.

An exhausting routine, followed day after day, year after year. And Premji doesn't

need to do a bit of it. He owns 84% of Wipro, giving him a net worth of $5.3 billion.

That makes him the richest person in India -- and one of the wealthiest on the planet.

But he's not even thinking of buying a jet, or even a new car. True, Wipro, with its

blue-chip roster of customers such as Microsoft, Sony, and Nokia, is one of India's top

companies. The fastidiously frugal chairman, however, figures those accounts must be

zealously guarded, every minute. With competition heating up as never before, top

managers have to “get off their asses and get into the field,” says Premji.

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“Eyeball To Eyeball”

That's why, for all his success, Premji seems focused on just one goal: even more

success. Wipro has grown from a small producer of cooking oil founded by his father

in 1945 to a colossus by Indian standards: 23,000 employees, $902 million in

revenues, and $170 million in profits for the fiscal year ended in March. Sales have

increased by an average of 25% a year and earnings by 52% annually over the past

four years.

Premji isn't slowing down, either. Just a few years ago, Wipro did software coding

and systems maintenance. Now it's expanding into more ambitious areas such as high-

end research, and helping customers design their IT systems. Consulting today

represents 7% of Wipro's revenues, up from zero two years ago. The firm has added

8,000 new employees in the past year, expanding its call-center services and beefing

up software expertise in health care, retail, and energy. Premji has bought three

companies, and he's extending his global reach, especially to countries in the Middle

East, where U.S. outfits are less welcome these days.

Over the years, Premji has impressed business leaders worldwide with his honesty,

financial discipline, and ability to attract top professionals. “He does business straight,

eyeball to eyeball,” says former General Electric Co. chairman and CEO John F.

“Jack” Welch, who has worked with Premji as a partner and customer for the past

decade.

For the growing number of white-collar workers from Silicon Valley to Sydney

worried about losing their jobs to low-wage software experts in India, the ambitious

billionaire is a serious threat. Yet this IT mogul faces the challenge of being too

successful. With the U.S. caught in a jobless recovery, the issue of outsourcing to

low-cost destinations is becoming ever-more controversial. American politicians are

calling for restrictions designed to make it harder for companies like Wipro to win

business. On Oct. 1, the number of U.S. visas available to foreign professionals fell by

66%, to 65,000. The move will hit Indian companies such as Wipro especially hard,

since they often dispatch engineers from Bangalore to their U.S. customers' offices.

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Beyond Bangalore

Yet Premji isn't scaling back his plans. His goal is to turn Wipro into one of the Top

10 IT-service companies in the world. To make the vision a reality, Premji must go

beyond Bangalore. Four years ago, he moved Wipro's tech headquarters to Santa

Clara, Calif., closer to the company's customers, and hired Vivek Paul, a former GE

Medical Systems manager, as chief executive. He has adopted the rigorous processes

of Six Sigma quality standards to stay nimble as the company grows.

Now he's on the prowl for deals that will arm Wipro with expertise in the

sophisticated and lucrative tech consulting business, so it can take on the likes of IBM

and Aaccenture. In July, 2002, Wipro paid $90 million for India's top call-center

operator, Spectramind. Last November, Wipro became the first Indian IT company to

make a major U.S. acquisition, buying the 100-person energy practice of Boston-

based tech consultant American Management Systems Inc. for $24 million. And this

May the company bought NerveWire Inc., a financial-services consultant in Newton,

Mass., for $19 million. “I want Wipro to play a big role in the global IT services

arena,” Premji says. That's starting to happen: In April, Wipro beat out Oracle Corp.

to provide tech services to Scandinavian Telco TeliaSonera. “The Indian companies

are getting very involved in these big deals, so there's huge pricing pressure,” gripes

Oracle CEO Lawrence J. Ellison.

The acquisition strategy, though, is risky. Competition from multinationals is heating

up, global tech spending is down, and customers for IT services want to pay less for

them. Wipro's acquisition of NerveWire and AMS's energy unit cut operating margins

to about 24%, from 30% in the past year. That has taken some of the sheen off

Wipro's stock price, which is down 24% since January in trading on the Bombay

Stock Exchange.

The workaholic chairman doesn't lose much sleep over share price. He has borne the

ups and downs of India's restrictive business environment for years. And Premji's

dominant stake in the company lets him execute strategy without worrying about

pleasing shareholders. “The company is run to deliver its long-term and short-term

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goals, not with any view of the stock price,” says Premji. Many analysts think he's

right not to fret. “Though Premji's vision of acquisitions entails some transitional

pain, it will build a full-service tech firm that can become the model for India's tech

future,” says Ajay Sondhi, vice-chairman of Kotak Mahindra Capital Co., a Bombay

investment bank.

Premji's track record suggests no one should doubt his ability to fulfill his strategic

vision. He was dispatched by his father to Stanford University, where Premji -- the

youngest of four children -- studied engineering in anticipation of taking over the

family business, Western India Vegetable Products Ltd., or Wipro. In 1966, while

Premji was in his senior year, his father died. So the 21-year-old undergrad returned

home to the dreary task of marketing cooking oil to tiny retailers. But Premji

immediately began to professionalize the company, hiring MBAs and letting them run

things as they saw fit. Gradually, Premji diversified into toilet soaps, competing with

giants such as Hindustan Lever.

Attracting the Best Brains

Wipro made good money, but Premji became restless. Then, in 1977, India's socialist

government booted out IBM, creating an opening for locals to get into computer

hardware. Premji leaped at the opportunity. In 1979, he began developing his own

computer and in 1981 started selling the finished machine -- the first in a string of

products that would make Wipro India's top-selling computer maker for two decades.

Wipro soon became known on India's engineering campuses as a company that did

original research and was able to attract the best brains. In 1984, Wipro jumped into

software with a spreadsheet and word-processing package. It failed but gave Premji

his first taste of the software world. “I don't agonize over failures. One must learn

from them,” he says.

Even as Wipro has grown into a software-services giant, it remains true to its roots.

Software services contributes 85% of Wipro's profits, but there's still a $178 million

computer-hardware unit, a light-bulb business, a 12-year-old joint venture with GE

Medical Systems to make diagnostic equipment, and, yes, a soap and cooking oil

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division. Together, they produce 35% of Wipro's sales -- and Premji fully intends to

keep them. They're largely profitable operations that don't require much of his time,

and he says they keep the Wipro brand in the public eye.

Premji – The Top CEO in Asia-Pacific

Bangalore, Dec. 8

"WHEN Azim H. Premji is in a meeting with us, we are only aware of the task at hand.

He is only there to see that the job is well done and never to promote himself," says Mr.

Anand Swaminathan, Manager (Corporate Branding), Wipro Ltd.

In a study by global human resources and outsourcing firm, Hewitt Associates, Mr. Azim

H. Premji, Chairman, Wipro Ltd, possibly the most enigmatic personality in India's

corporate sector, was voted the top CEO among 203 others in the Asia-Pacific region.

What makes the Wipro line-up go for success and how does the captain lead the team to

it? Business Line got an insider view from the company's HR team.

The study found that the `CEOs' involvement is much higher in financially successful

firms and that the best CEOs spend 25 per cent or more of their time building leadership.'

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Confirming that this was one of the key strategies at Wipro to build internal leaders, Mr.

Ranjan Acharya, Corporate Vice-President, Human Resources Development, Wipro Ltd,

says, "Apart from spending half a day in the Wipro Leaders' Program, Mr. Premji spends

an enormous amount of time on talent planning and review of all senior and top

managers." He even goes through the appraisal and 360-degree feedback of every senior

manager. The report highlights another common factor among the top players in the

corporate sector:

These companies on an average groom about 76 per cent of their total leadership

internally and hire the remaining 24 per cent from outside, while the others fill up to 41

per cent of their leadership roles with external talent.

And all the leading ten companies studied by Hewitt in Asia-Pacific have a specific

strategy for developing leaders, compared to 72 per cent of the other study companies.

And most of these companies use their leadership competencies in their succession-

planning processes, discloses the report.

Commenting on these conclusions, Mr. Pratik Kumar, Corporate Vice-President, Human

Resources, Wipro Ltd, says, "Wipro has always followed these processes. We have been

`focusing right' from the beginning." The stories about how Wipro has created leaders in

the IT industry, is old hat now.

Talking about Mr. Premji's leadership style, Mr. Pratik Kumar says, "He believes that

personal credibility is one of the most important traits of a leader. Leadership must coach

and energize others is what Mr. Premji demonstrates at the training sessions."

Mr. Kumar also points out that Mar Premji knows `when to back out of the limelight and

credit someone else in the organization with success.'

Other factors that have contributed to Mr. Premji's success as a CEO have been

transparency and involvement. "Winning leaders are demanding leaders too," says Mr.

Kumar.

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Azim H. Premji, Chairman, Wipro Corporation – Spiritually

In a world where integrity purportedly counts for naught, Azim Hasham Premji

symbolizes just that. The 55-year-old Wipro chairman made international waves in 2000

ever since his group became an Rs 3,500-crore empire with a market capitalization

exceeding Rs 500,000 million! If any stargazer had been foolish enough to predict in

1966 that a 21-year-old Indian at Stanford University would one day achieve all this, he'd

have been laughed out of business. At that juncture, Premji was forced to discontinue his

engineering studies in the States due to the untimely death of his father. Returning to

India to take charge of a cooking oil company, the youth infused new life into the

family's traditional mindset and trade.

Over the years, Premji diversified into sectors like computer hardware and lighting,

disregarding marketing laws that extolled the virtues of core competence and frowned on

brand extensions into unrelated segments. Despite all the success, the media-shy Premji

maintained a low profile, letting his work do all the talking. Until early last year the

media broke the story that Azim Premji had become the second-richest man in the

world… In spite of his billions, however, he still travels economy class and stays in

budget hotels.

When the man was recently honored with the Businessman of the Year 2000 award, he

attributed his stupendous success to the 12,000 people who work for Wipro Corporation.

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Nor did he forget to mention his family. The great man then shared some tips for success:

• Have the courage to think big.

• Never compromise on fundamental values, no matter what the situation.

• Build up self-confidence, always look ahead.

• Always have the best around you, even if they are better than you are.

• Have an obsessive commitment to quality.

• Play to win.

• Leave the rest to the force beyond.

Premji the businessman practices what he preaches. When it comes to upholding personal

values, there's no margin for error. Wipro managers speak in awe of the time they

received a terse message that their chairman was flying down to Bangalore for a meeting.

It was clear that something major was in the offing. Premji came straight to the point. A

senior general manager of the company had been given marching orders-because he'd

inflated a travel bill. The man's contribution to the company was significant; the bill's

amount was not. Yet he had to go for this solitary lapse. It was, Premji stressed, a matter

of principles.

Wipro's code of conduct for employees says it all: Don't do anything that you're unwilling

to have published in tomorrow's newspaper with your photograph next to it.

It's that kind of integrity that has catapulted Premji and Wipro to unprecedented heights.

Life Positive, January 2001

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Milestones – Azim Premji in a Nutshell Azim Premji is a graduate in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University,

USA. On the sudden demise of his father in 1966, Premji took over the leadership

of Wipro at the age of 21.

Azim Premji started off in Wipro with a simple vision - to build an organization

on a foundation of values.

Under Azim Premji's leadership, the US$2 million hydrogenated cooking fat

company has grown to a US$1.76 billion IT Services organization serving

customers across the globe. Wipro is today ranked among the Top 100

Technology companies globally (Business Week).

In 2000, Azim Premji was conferred an honorary doctorate by the Manipal

Academy of Higher Education in India.

Azim Premji was also among the 50 richest people in the world from 2001 to

2003 according to Forbes.

In April 2004, Azim Premji was rated among the 100 most influential people in

the world by Time magazine Azim Premji's assets include 84 % holding in Wipro

Technologies (the remaining belonging to the co-founders of Wipro).

Azim Premji is a member of the Prime Minister's Advisory Committee for

Information Technology in India.

Azim Premji was rated the richest person in the country from 1999 to 2005 by

Forbes.

In 2005, Azim Premji was awarded the Padma Bhushan.

Wipro is world's largest independent R&D Service provider and its BPO wing is

the largest outsourcing company in India.

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N R Narayana Murthy | January 04, 2005

A leader is an agent of change, and progress is about change. In the words of Robert F

Kennedy, 'Progress is a nice word; but change is its motivator.'

Leadership is about raising the aspirations of followers and enthusing people with a

desire to reach for the stars. For instance, Mahatma Gandhi created a vision for

independence in India and raised the aspirations of our people.

Leadership is about making people say, 'I will walk on water for you.' It is about creating

a worthy dream and helping people achieve it.

Robert Kennedy, summed up leadership best when he said, 'Others see things as they are

and wonder why; I see them as they are not and say why not?'

Adversity

A leader has to raise the confidence of followers. He should make them understand that

tough times are part of life and that they will come out better at the end of it. He has to

sustain their hope, and their energy levels to handle the difficult days.

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There is no better example of this than Winston Churchill. His courageous leadership as

prime minister for Great Britain successfully led the British people from the brink of

defeat during World War II. He raised his people's hopes with the words, 'These are not

dark days; these are great days -- the greatest days our country has ever lived.'

Never is strong leadership more needed than in a crisis. In the words of Seneca, the Greek

philosopher, 'Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men.'

Values

The leader has to create hope. He has to create a plausible story about a better future for

the organisation: everyone should be able to see the rainbow and catch a part of it.

This requires creating trust in people. And to create trust, the leader has to subscribe to a

value system: a protocol for behavior that enhances the confidence, commitment and

enthusiasm of the people.

Compliance to a value system creates the environment for people to have high

aspirations, self esteem, belief in fundamental values, confidence in the future and the

enthusiasm necessary to take up apparently difficult tasks. Leaders have to walk the talk

and demonstrate their commitment to a value system.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, 'We must become the change we want to see in the world.'

Leaders have to prove their belief in sacrifice and hard work. Such behavior will enthuse

the employees to make bigger sacrifices. It will help win the team's confidence, help

leaders become credible, and help create trust in their ideas.

Enhancing trust

Trust and confidence can only exist where there is a premium on transparency. The

leader has to create an environment where each person feels secure enough to be able to

disclose his or her mistakes, and resolves to improve.

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Investors respect such organisations. Investors understand that the business will have

good times and bad times. What they want you to do is to level with them at all times.

They want you to disclose bad news on a proactive basis. At Infosys, our philosophy has

always been, 'When in doubt, disclose.'

Governance

Good corporate governance is about maximising shareholder value on a sustainable basis

while ensuring fairness to all stakeholders: customers, vendor-partners, investors,

employees, government and society.

A successful organisation tides over many downturns. The best index of success is its

longevity. This is predicated on adhering to the finest levels of corporate governance.

At Infosys, we have consistently adopted transparency and disclosure standards even

before law mandated it. In 1995, Infosys suffered losses in the secondary market. Under

Indian GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles), we were not required to make

this information public. Nevertheless, we published this information in our annual report.

Fearless environment

Transparency about the organisation's operations should be accompanied by an open

environment inside the organisation. You have to create an environment where any

employee can disagree with you without fear of reprisal.

In such a case, everyone makes suggestions for the common good. In the end everyone

will be better off.

On the other hand, at Enron, the CFO was running an empire where people were afraid to

speak. In some other cases, the whistle blowers have been harassed and thrown out of the

company.

Managerial remuneration

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We have gone towards excessive salaries and options for senior management staff. At

one company, the CEO's employment contract not only set out the model of the Mercedes

the company would buy him, but also promised a monthly first-class air ticket for his

mother, along with a cash bonus of $10 million and other benefits.

Not surprisingly, this company has already filed for bankruptcy.

Managerial remuneration should be based on three principles:

Fairness with respect to the compensation of other employees;

Transparency with respect to shareholders and employees;

Accountability with respect to linking compensation with corporate performance.

Thus, the compensation should have a fixed component and a variable component. The

variable component should be linked to achieving long-term objectives of the firm.

Senior management should swim or sink with the fortunes of the company.

Senior management compensation should be reviewed by the compensation committee of

the board, which should consist only of independent directors. Further, this should be

approved by the shareholders.

I've been asked, 'How can I ask for limits on senior management compensation when I

have made millions myself?' A fair question with a straightforward answer: two systems

are at play here. One is that of the promoter, the risk taker and the capital markets; and

the other is that of professional management and compensation structures.

One cannot mix these two distinct systems, otherwise entrepreneurship will be stifled,

and no new companies will come up, no progress can take place. At the same time, there

has to be fairness in compensation: there cannot be huge differences between the top

most and the bottom rung of the ladder within an organisation.

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PSPD model

A well run organisation embraces and practices a sound Predictability-Sustainability-

Profitability-Derisking (we call this the PSPD model at Infosys) model. Indeed, the long-

term success of an organisation depends on having a model that scales up profitably.

Further, every organisation must have a good derisking approach that recognises,

measures and mitigates risk along every dimension.

Integrity

Strong leadership in adverse times helps win the trust of the stakeholders, making it more

likely that they will stand by you in your hour of need. As leaders who dream of growth

and progress, integrity is your most wanted attribute.

Lead your teams to fight for the truth and never compromise on your values. I am

confident that our corporate leaders, through honest and desirable behaviour, will reap

long-term benefits for their stakeholders.

Two mottos

In conclusion, keep in mind two Sanskrit sentences: Sathyannasti Paro Dharma (there is

no dharma greater than adherence to truth); and Satyameva jayate (truth alone triumphs).

Let these be your motto for good corporate leadership.

The author is Chairman and Chief Mentor, Infosys Technologies

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Ten Inspiring Lessons from Azim Premji

March 23, 2005

Long one but worth reading.

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 Organization. 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.

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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 realized 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.

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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 globalization 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.

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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.

Globalization 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.

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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.

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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,

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“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, specializing

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 enroll over a million children, who are out of school due to

economic or social reasons.

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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 judgments.

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.”

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“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, traveling 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

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Buddhist Perspective of Leadership & Management

By Shen Shi'an,

The Buddhist Channel, July 20, 2006

Singapore -- The historical Buddha was an

incomparable leader in many aspects. Without any

human weaknesses, he shone as a complete embodiment of virtue, an example of what

we all can be.

He led the monastic community with democracy, while teaching the world the

importance of harmony and interdependence. With an open door policy, he welcomed

anyone to challenge his thinking anytime. Being interested solely in the well-being of

others, he was also an outspoken leader for human rights, animal rights and

environmental rights.

The leader of a team can be likened to a “Buddha”. He or she should oversee everyone’s

work and welfare. He or she should be as compassionate and wise as possible, while

constantly bettering oneself in these aspects. Being supposedly the most enlightened of

the team, he or she has to be well-balanced in views, to always be fair and objective.

The leader’s team members are like his or her protégés – future Buddhas. They are the

Bodhisattvas – the Buddha’s helping hands, through which more beings are helped, and

more work gets done. And those who the Bodhisattvas help, are of course all

unenlightened beings - the beneficiaries of the team's efforts. All Buddhas train all

Bodhisattvas to eventually become Buddhas, just as all Bodhisattvas train all beings to

become Bodhisattvas.

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The Buddhas eventually enter final Nirvana, just as the Bodhisattvas will attain Nirvana,

which is why the unenlightened beings should learn to take over their tasks in good time.

This process of helping others and oneself to become more and more enlightened is

dynamic spiritual evolution - never at a standstill. This is selfless skill development of all

in terms of leadership training, the eventual enlightening of all beings.

Spiritually, all Buddhas are the best leaders, capable ultimately, of leading us towards the

ultimate goal of Enlightenment - which is why the Buddhas are called “Teachers of

Humans and Gods”. They lead by perfect example and skilful advice, are never

commandingly autocratic, but gentlemanly democratic, while being firm on crucial

principles.

Just as all Buddhas are blameless leaders, for all leaders to be blameless, they too should

actively work towards perfecting themselves in terms of compassion and wisdom, so as

to better inspire future leaders.

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Conclusion

The world today is under going a change more profound and far reaching than any

experienced since the dawn of the modern age. Rapid environmental changes are causing

fundamental transformations that have a dramatic impact on organizations and present

new challenges for human resources management in general and leadership in particular.

It has been human nature to desire stability even in the ever-changing professional lives.

The system of life - and organizations – is fluid, dynamic, and potentially self-renewing

wherein today’s best leaders are learning to “go with the flow” to accept the inevitability

of constant change and recognize change itself as a potential source of energy. These

profound changes cannot be cuddled and integrated without addressing the deepest

thoughts and feelings of Indian managers. This requires the manager to open up the heart

and deal with the emotions, welcoming them into the workplace to ensure success in this

ever-changing industrial environment.

Leadership and Management principles are imperative in all organizations, where a group

of human beings assemble for a common purpose, through planning, proper management

of resources, adopting common policies and practices.

The modern management philosophies are oriented towards continuous thirst for profit,

irrespective of the quality of the methods adopted to achieve that goal. The 'management

by materialism' concept has become the ‘watch-word’ of all the countries the world over,

India being no exception to this trend.

We have reached a point in time where the management and workers have become

disparate and antithetical entities whose approaches are divergent and interests

conflicting. There is no common umbrella enveloping both of them, which predictably

leads to constant friction, disillusionment, suspicion and mistrust. The erosion of human

values in the organizational structure has resulted in a permanent crisis of confidence.

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Hence, there is an urgent need to re-examine prevailing management disciplines - their

objectives, scope and content

On Future Leaders

"Truly effective leaders in the years ahead will have personas determined by strong

values and belief in the capacity of individuals to grow. They will have an image of the

society in which they would like their organizations and themselves to live. They will be

visionary, they will believe strongly that they can and should be shaping the future, and

they will act on those beliefs through their personal behavior."

The Leader-Driven Organization

"In the future the real core competence of companies will be the ability to continuously

and creatively destroy and remake themselves to meet customer demands. Everyone in

the organization must take responsibility for taking responsive actions. This means that a

company needs leadership everywhere in the organization. From the corner office, in the

customer rep's cubicle, and on the shop floor. Leadership is the ability to see reality as it

really is and to mobilize the appropriate response."

Leaders are Important because;

Leaders Manage Through Times of Change

1. They determine direction.

2. They move organizations from where they are to where they need to be.

Leaders Make Things Happen

1. They shape the culture.

2. They use the management tools.

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Leaders are Revolutionaries

1. They face reality and mobilize appropriate resources.

2. They encourage others to do the same

The six most important words: "I admit I made a mistake." The five most

important words: "You did a good job." The four most important words: "What is your

opinion?" The three most important words: "If you please." The two most important

words: "Thank you," The one most important word: "We" The least most important word:

"I"

- Unknown

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