“You should dare to dream, define what you stand for,
never lose your zest and curiosity, always strive for
excellence, build self confidence, learn to work in
teams, take care of yourself, preserve, have a broader
social vision and finally never let success go to your
head,” Premji said.
The Wipro chairman was delivering the convocation
address at the 38 the convocation of the Indian
Institute of Technology, Madras.
Following is the entire text of the convocation
address made by Premji:
I am privileged to be with you here today and to share
this significant moment of your life.
The convocation marks the culmination of all the
endless nights you worked through, all the anxieties
you have gone through facing one examination after
another and all the preparation you have put in, not
only to enter this prestigious institution but also to
graduate from it successfully. It is no mean
achievement.
Only a handful of the most talented people in the
world have shared this success with you. Let me just
say that I am very proud of each and every one of you.
I am a little wary about giving you advice- because
advice is one thing young people all over the world do
not like receiving. I cannot fault you for that.
The world does look very different when it is seen
with your eyes. You are filled with enthusiasm and are
straining at the leash to get on with life.
And the world is very different from what it was when
I was at your age. Never before has the role of
technology been so pervasive and so central. The
Internet has breached all physical borders and
connected the world together like no other force has
done before.
For the first time, opportunities for creating wealth
in India are at par with the best in world. There is
no need for you to sacrifice the joy of remaining in
your own country any more.
All opportunities are accompanied by their own
challenges. I thought I would share with you a few of
the lessons I have learnt in my own life, while
loading the transformation at Wipro, from a small
company three and a half decades back into a global
corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange. I
hope you find them useful.
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 Organisation. 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.
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 realised 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.
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 globalisation 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.
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.
Globalisation 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.
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.
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, “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, specialising 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 enrol over a million
children, who are out of school due to economic or
social reasons.
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
judgements.
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.”
“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, travelling 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.
I wish you every success in your career and your
future life.
