Success Mantras

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

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

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.

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. 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.

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 but if we want
to make Rs 1,000 crore 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 do I want to see Infosys 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 in which 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.
• We have a depth of leaders within the organisation, 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