Everybody else bring data to the table This is one of

Narayan Murthys favorite one liners. What exactly does he

mean? Is he saying that clients and staff cant be trusted? Murthy
has said many times that trust is critical in business because it
reduces the cost of transactions.

In Murthy's eyes Infy (as Infosys is referred to) as an

enlightened democracy i.e. a meritocracy powered by intellect and
driven by values committed to Murthys brand of compassionate
capitalism. He feels that what people really need are opportunities,
incentives and healthy competition. As he sees it, there is a
hierarchy at Infy, but it is a hierarchy of ideas, not people.Ideally,
decisions are based on data, not emotions. The best and most
innovative ideas are selected in every case. Murthy runs Infy on the
conviction that Performance leads to recognition.Recognition brings
respect. Respect enhances power.Humility and grace in one's
moments of power enhances the dignity of the organization."
Initially, Infy gave away stocks worth Rs. 50,000 crores to staff
creating two thousand salaried millionaires in the US and twenty
thousand in India. It has done this because it wants to attract,
enable, empower and retain happy, enthusiastic, energetic,
satisfied, aspirational minds. According to Murthy, the rest is
elementary and follows as a matter of course. The compensation
package is structured differently now. To what extent does Murthy's
vision actually translate into the ground reality at Infy? It's open to
debate!

Murthys life and work are the stuff of legend. His life reads
like a classic rags to riches story. His father was a school teacher of
very limited means. Murthy was a brilliant student, excelling in
Physics and Mathematics. After finishing school, he wanted to join
IIT. He took the entrance exam and cleared it with top marks. When
his father got the news, he was terribly sad. He had to tell his son
that he could not afford to send him to IIT. Murthy graduated in
Electrical Engineering from Mysore instead. Murthy was not bitter
because:
 'All students from the IITs study well and do big things in life.
But it is not the institution, ultimately it is you and you alone who
can change your life by hard work.'

He did end up doing his M.Tech from IIT, Kanpur. He turned

that dream into reality. There were other struggles ahead. In 1976,
he set up 'Softronics,' but the company folded in a year and half.
Murthy, always grounded and practical, took up a job with 'Patni
Computers' in Pune.

Murthy has always been a frugal man who lives an austere

life rooted in conservative middle class values. For example, he
doesnt drive and takes the company bus instead. In fact buses
have played a critical role in his life. Years ago, the beautiful and
brilliant Sudha Kulkarni got hired as the first woman engineer at
Telco in Pune. Narayan Murthy was working for Patni Computers.
Omkar Goswami of NDTV interviewed Sudha and Narayan Murthy
in 2011. She spoke of how they met on the bus both took to
work. She noticed that he got on the bus with a different book
every day. Intrigued, she took a peek. One day the front page said
Narayan Murthy: Istanbul, the next day it was, Narayan Murthy:
Paris, the third, Narayan Murthy: Peshawar.' Always direct, she
asked him: Who is this Narayan Murthy? Hes an international
conductor. He replied Hes a young person from Karnataka who
was in Paris for three years. Every time I visit a place, I buy a book
to remember it by. The next day he got on the bus and told her:
Narayan Murthy wants to meet you. Sudha Murty is from
Karnataka too and they had a common friend, Prasanna. This
marked the start of their courtship.

Sudha Murty (She spells her last name without the h) speaks
very candidly and endearingly about the early years. Murthy invited
a few friends and insisted that she join them. She was quite
surprised and refused because she was the only girl in the group.
He was insistent. She says she had to pick up some clothes from a
tailor nearby so she got there at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30. Murthy was
already standing outside. He insists that she got there early to meet
him. She says it was the tailor. Theyre still arguing about it. During
their courtship, Murthy was always broke. Hed say; I dont have
money with me, you pay my share, I will return it to you later. For
three years, she kept an account. When they married in 1978,
Murthy owed her a little over four thousand rupees. He never
returned the money. The man who couldnt pay for his dinner was
worth US $ 1.4 billion in 2012!

By 1980, Murthy was working on a blue print for Infosys. His habit
of borrowing from his wife continued. In 1981, Murthy set up Infy
with six other professional in a 10 ftx10ft room with no telephone or
computer. He borrowed Rs. 10,000/ (Us $ 250 at the then rate of
exchange) from her. This was their seed capital. She also gifted him
a three year sabbatical to follow his dream. She promised to take
care of the financial and other needs of the household and also look
after their son. It took over nine long years for Murthy to break
even. Its incredible that in 2012-13, Infy had a market cap of
approximately US $31 billion and 155,000 employees.

Initially, Infy found it very hard to get a foothold in the

international market as no one trusted Indian business practices
and products. It worked hard. It worked smart. It was
transparent. It worked to deadlines and guaranteed quality
control. It developed cutting edge technology with a very fast
delivery cycle.It introduced the PSPD
model: (i.e.predictability,sustanability,profitability,de-risking,) . In
a business unfriendly India, it battled with massive corruption and
red tape. It refused to compromise on open, honest business
practices. Its 'Globall Delivery Model for IT services outsourcing
from India' led to an international footprint for Infy.

Murthy shared life lessons with the students of the Stern School of
Business in New York in 2007. He said: we often run into chance
events and unplanned encounters. We have to turn these events
into opportunities by combining them with intentional choices; In a
time of change, it is the learners who inherit the future. He spoke
of how the founders got an offer of US $1 million for Infy after
struggling for nine years. This was the first time theyd seen money.
Five of the founders met in Bangalore to consider the sale. For four
hours Murthy listened to his colleagues without a word. Then he
got up and spoke of why they should hold on. If they still insisted,
hed buy out their shares. He didnt have a penny in his pocket!
Somehow, he managed to persuade them. Today Infy is a US $ 7.5
billion company.

Murthy has never deviated from a path of corporate responsibility

towards society in his long career:

I believe that we have all at some time eaten the fruit from trees
that we did not plant. In the fullness of time, when it is our turn to
give, it behooves us in turn to plant gardens that we may never eat
the fruit of, which will largely benefit generations to come. I believe
this is our sacred responsibility, one that I hope you will shoulder
in time.

Infy has run into problems over the last few years. Its been
overtaken by Cognizant. Its revenues have fallen well below TCS.
Employee satisfaction and morale are low. It's no longer a company
people are willing to kill to work for. It's focus on the lucrative
consultancy business has backfired. In a recessionary market,
clients are not willing to pay for Infy's high priced products and
services.On June 1, 2013, Murthy returned to Infy for five years to
restore the company to its pre eminent position in the market. At
the AGM on June 15, he told shareholders that it would take him
three years to turn the company around; improvements require
change and the quest for perfection requires us to change as often
as necessary.

Is Murthy right in crossing the retirement age and bringing

his son Rohan in as PA? Can one man turn the fortunes of a
huge company? Open questions. They say character is
destiny