N. R. Narayana Murthy Quotations

I think people like Bill Gates, who have given away enormous sums of money, are shining examples for all of us to follow.

Nobody is bothered about an institution more than its alumni.

All developmental activities for the common man such as education, healthcare, shelter and food distribution should be handled by reputed private sector institutions. It should be a competitive market in order to prevent the formation of monopolies.

Leadership is about doing the right thing, even if it going against a vast number of naysayers and mediocre people.

A great leader also has the ability to make people an inch taller in his presence.

When you are in business for a long time, you go through good times and bad times. When you go through bad times, you learn to control costs, satisfy customers better, satisfy employees better and become more transparent. Therefore, you build character in the company.

When you run a part of the relay and pass on the baton, there is no sense of unfinished business in your mind. There is just the sense of having done your part to the best of your ability. That is it. The hope is to pass on the baton to somebody who will run faster and run a better marathon.

The primary difference that I have found between the system of education in India and other countries, particularly the U.S., is that they focus on problem solving and relating theories to reality around them. These two things are lacking in the education system in India.

We all, as engineers, doctors, have a big responsibility to bring smiles on the faces of suffering humanity.

I think India has several advantages in the knowledge sector, in the software sector.

Even if a company is taken private, at some stage people want to make it public.

I've always enjoyed mathematics. It is the most precise and concise way of expressing any idea.

The lack of financial strength to avail healthcare is a major challenge.

To me, patriotism is about working ethically and wholeheartedly in our chosen field.

I was the first businessman to say, 'You should give tax benefit to only small companies. You should say your profits are exempt to a limit of Rs. 50 crore or so, but beyond that, you should pay taxes.' I have been arguing with successive finance ministers on this.

Infosys demonstrated to the world that an Indian company could implement standards of quality, operations, finance that compare with the best. That is a legacy I am happy with.

If England became a world power, it was because of the industrial revolution.

I think every country has to recognize its competitive advantage and liberate its strengths to be a partner in global trade, and that's the only way you can survive and succeed.

Entrepreneurship is all about an idea that creates differentiated business value to one's customers. You must be able to convince your customers about the benefits that association with you or your products will give them. People are ready to pay if they are convinced about your services or products.

Leading by example is the most powerful advice you can give to anybody.

Engineering or technology is all about using the power of science to make life better for people, to reduce cost, to improve comfort, to improve productivity, etc.

Growth is painful. Change is painful. But, nothing is as painful as staying stuck where you do not belong.

The future of any corporation is as good as the value system of the leaders and followers in the organization.

Hinduism has an enormous capacity to absorb from outside influences and accept it in a peaceful and steady manner without perturbing the system.

Effective use of technology is important to deliver healthcare. By leveraging technology, you can bring down lack of access and cost of healthcare.

A professorship appeals very much because I enjoy being with younger people.

Although we have enough healthcare support, often it doesn't reach the poor and needy. In this scenario, technology is the best solution.

Even the most dishonest officer would want to be seen as a role model for his children.

Every company has to identify what I call its strategic resources, and make sure that it grabs as much of its strategic resources as possible.

I am what we call a 'karma yogi' in Sanskrit. A karma yogi is somebody who believes in data. I collect a lot of data.

I believe all universities should at least offer courses in politics and policy implementation.

I do not believe in any legacy. The past is dead and gone.

I have always focused on the bottom line.

I have always looked at my competencies before accepting any responsibility.

I have known Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla for a long time. He is a good man. He is a decent man.

I have no desire to enter politics. Because I am not suited for that.

If longevity is the best index to measure a company, a basic requirement is the ability of the corporation to generate new and new leaders.

India needs to sustain its high growth rate.

Infosys is an absolute meritocracy. Even in a meritocracy, other things being equal, you have to give opportunity to the more experienced candidate.

Investment in training is a huge necessity for knowledge-based corporations.

It is a well-known fact that bringing in technologies in retail sector is good for consumers.

Kumar Mangalam Birla is one of the most respected business persons.

Mahatma Gandhi was someone who demonstrated the tremendous power of leadership by example.

My passion is to create a better society for our future citizens.

My personal view is that organisations have a capacity to throw up extraordinary leaders to suit the occasion.

Rahul Gandhi is very idealistic and a very decent human being. He has real concerns for the downtrodden.

The biggest impediment to growth is in our minds and not in the world outside, and only constant in the world is change.

The unique instrument to eradicate poverty and usher in prosperity is our youth.

Today, the biggest bottleneck to the growth of a corporation is availability of good talent.

You need to mesh the voices of people with expertise and meritocracy.

Any mechanism that will ensure benefits to consumer, any mechanism that will ensure that we do not waste food grains, any mechanism that helps the poorest of the poor is a welcome step.

I think there are opportunities outside India as well as in India. In fact, some of the largest projects that most Indian software companies are doing are in India.

I think, at the end of the day, you have to reduce friction to businesses, ideally to zero, so that more and more entrepreneurs can create more and more jobs with higher and higher disposable income.

I think, my own personal view is there should be higher and higher levels of autonomy; government should not interfere in setting up colleges, in running colleges. The market, the society will decide which is a good university, which is not a good university, rather than government mandating.

I want Infosys to be a company which is globally respected and in where people belonging to different nationalities, races and religious beliefs will work with intense competition but utmost courtesy, dignity and co-operation in adding greater value to our stakeholders day after day.

If my company spends money, it should be disclosed to the shareholders and how it was spent. With my personal money, I can do anything I want. But company money should be disclosed.

In order to improve healthcare, we'll have to spend more on it, increase accountability and decentralize services, enforce standards and reinstate people's faith in it.

India is known for much development that has happened since our independence, but at the same time, we have also failed on many levels. It is the responsibility of the future generation to ensure that all these failures are corrected and help create a civilised society with equal opportunities for one and all.

It's very important to learn quick lessons from your failures, very important to recognize symptoms of failure pretty early, and it is very, very important to not to be attached too much to the idea - you have to know when to give up an idea.

It's well proved economics that if a country which is rich and a country that is poor come together in global trade, sooner or later the standard of living of the poor country will go up towards that of the rich country.

Often times I have been asked about the attributes for success, and I have said that you need two attributes for succeeding as an entrepreneur: one, courage, second, luck.

The principle of democracy is all about delegation of power by the vast majority of citizens through a few chosen representatives chosen on merit and competence.

The world expects India to be one of the leaders in solving the problems of politics and economics. India sits at the high table in most major multilateral deliberations. What India says is heard with attention and seriousness.

We are not the same India that the world saw in the 1970s and '80s. Hence, we have a responsibility to live up to the pedestal on which we have been put.

When people get rich, they cut themselves off from the context that has earned them these riches - the context of the common men. They forget they are part of society.

Indian IT corporations have made work in the U.S. much more efficient by enhancing their productivity and quality of work. We have helped to add sufficient value to the corporations in the U.S.

If the U.S. became the undisputed superpower that it is today, it was primarily because of its technology, whether it is in transportation, agriculture, high-tech industry, medicine, etc.

The velocity of decision making in government was extraordinary slow. It took 18 to 24 months and 15 to 20 trips to Delhi to get a license to import computers.

I am a believer in the adage - performance leads to recognition, recognition leads to respect and respect leads to power.

Organisations with decision-making speed and imagination will thrive as nobody can claim to have a monopoly over creativity.

There is only one ingredient for innovation and that is the power of the human mind. As long as a company is able to attract, enable, empower and retain the best of the brightest, it will have a play. As long as the leadership of companies ensure that the physically and mentally tired mind that leaves office at whatever 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm or 9:00 pm comes back mentally and physically reenergised and enthusiastic to add significant value to the customer next morning, the job is done.

In the fullness of time, when it is our turn to give, we must in turn plant gardens that we may never eat the fruit of, which will benefit the generations to come.

It is better to underpromise and overdeliver than vice versa. For this one need not break the law of the land.

You do not have to be the son of a rich man to be an entrepreneur. Today kids are far more willing to take risks because they've seen high rewards.

Respect, recognition, and reward flow out of performance.

The real power of money is the power to give it away.

A clear conscience is the softest pillow in the world.

Our assets walk out of the door each evening. We have to make sure that they come back the next morning.

Character + Chance = Success

Performance leads to recognition. Recognition brings respect. Respect enhances power. Humility and grace in one's moments of power enhances dignity of an organisation,

You become a star not because of your title; you become a star because you are adding star value to the company

Progress is often equal to the difference between mind and mindset.