Azim Premji''s lessons in life

Azim Premji, chairman,
09 February 2004

Azim Premji, chairman, Wipro Corporation, a pioneer of the Indian infotech industry is one of the most distinguished leaders of corporate India. He recently shared his values and beliefs with aspiring young managers in Mumbai at the "Shaping young minds programme", organised by the All India Management Association and the Bombay Management Association on February 9, 2004 in Mumbai.

It is always wonderful to be with young people. The funny thing about life is that you realise the value of something only when it begins to leave you. As my hair turned from black to salt and pepper, and finally salt without the pepper, I have begun to realise the importance of youth. At the same time, I have begun to truly appreciate some of the lessons I have learnt along the way. I hope you will find them useful when you plan your own career and life.

The first thing I have learnt is that we must always begin with our strengths. From the earliest years of our schooling, everyone focuses on what is wrong with us. There is an imaginary story of a rabbit. The rabbit was enrolled in a rabbit school. Like all rabbits, it could hop very well but could not swim. At the end of the year, the rabbit got high marks in hopping but failed in swimming. The parents were concerned. They said, "Forget about hopping. You are anyway good at it. Concentrate on swimming." They sent the rabbit for tuitions in swimming. And guess what happened? The rabbit forgot how to hop! As for swimming, have you ever seen a rabbit swim? While it is important for us to know what we are not good at, we must also cherish what is good in us. That is because it is only our strengths that can give us the energy to correct our weaknesses.

The second lesson I have learnt is that a rupee earned is of far more value than five found. My friend was sharing with me the story of his eight-year-old niece. She would always complain about the breakfast. The cook tried everything possible, but the child remained unhappy. Finally, my friend took the child to a supermarket and brought one of those ready-to-cook packets. The child had to cut the packet and pour water in the dish. After that, it took two minutes in the microwave to be ready. The child found the food absolutely delicious! The difference was that she had cooked it herself!

In my own life, I have found that nothing gives as much satisfaction as earning our rewards. In fact, what is gifted or inherited follows the old rule of 'easy come, easy go'. I guess we only know the value of what we have if we have struggled to earn it.