Murthy's leadership and vision helped establish Infosys as one of India's most successful IT companies. Over three decades, he demonstrated exemplary qualities like integrity, transparency, meritocracy, and shareholder-friendly practices. While facing many challenges, Murthy remained steadfast in his principles and focused on nurturing talent. His contributions have left an indelible mark on India's IT industry and economic development.

1. From,
Life and Career of
NRN Narayana M h
Murthy
Founder & Mentor, Infosys
y

2. Seize Your Gandhi Moment
1
Murthy, a self proclaimed socialist in the
mid ‘70s was jailed for 72 hours in
j
Bulgaria. The experience taught him that
entrepreneurship and j creation is the
p p job
way to alleviate poverty.
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3. 2 You might fail, but get started
g , g
Learn from mistakes and move on. In 1976,
Murthy f
M h founded Softronics, a company that
d dS f i h
lasted a year and a half. When he realized that
his first
hi fi venture wasn’t taking off, he moved
’ ki ff h d
on.
12
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4. Think Big. Don’t Hesitate to
3 Start Small
t t S ll
In 1981 a determined Murthy started Infosys
1981,
with Rs 10,000 he borrowed from his wife. In
few years, Infosys went on to become one of
years
the largest wealth creators in the country.
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5. Cut Yourself a Slice, Not a Large
4 One Always
W
When Infosys was set up, Murthy took a p y
y p, y pay
cut while salaries of other co-founder’s were
increased by 10 p
y percent. According to Murthy,
g y,
a leader needs to show his or her sacrifice and
commitment.
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6. Lend a Hand and Throw in a Foot
5 Too
T
After Murthy convinced seven of his
colleagues,
colleagues there was a problem Nandan’s
problem. Nandan s
future in-laws were not sure about him.
Murthy met Nandan’s uncle and convinced
Nandan s
him.
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7. 6 Own Up, and Then Clean Up
In the ‘80s Infosys developed an application
for a German client. Murthy noticed a single
character error and informed the client
immediately.
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8. Trust in God, But Verify with
7 Data
D
In God we trust, the rest must come with data,
is perhaps Murthy’s favorite statement. When
confronted decisions, he tends to rely on data.
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9. Keep the Faith
8
Infosys almost wound up i 1990. M th did
I f l t d in Murthy
not want to sell the company. He asked co-
founders if they wanted out and offered to buy
f d th t d t d ff d t b
their shares. All of them stuck together.
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10. Get Involved
9
Infosys won a contract from Reebok in the
f f b k h
early ‘90s. Seeing the founders involvement,
the software, was nick named ‘Dinesh, Murthy
h f k d h h
and Prahlad.’ Infy veterans still recall those
days.
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11. 10 Sharing is Caring
After the IPO, Infosys decided to share a
p
portion of its equity with employees. This
q y p y
helped them retain talent and gave employees a
sense of ownership. Murthy is p
p y proud of havingg
given away stocks worth over Rs 50,000 crore to
employees.
p y
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12. Treat your P l G d b
T People Good, but
11 Your Best Better
Murthy always had a thing for good
performers. And he rewarded them well. Wh
f A dh d d h ll When
Infosys decided to give its employees stock
options, Murthy insisted that some shares be
i M h i i d h h b
given to good performers through the
‘Chairman’s quota.’
‘Ch i ’ ’
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13. Hire a Good Accountant, Even
Accountant
12 if he is Argumentative
g
A young, argumentative Indian, was asking too
many questions at an annual general body
meeting of Infosys. More impressed than
irritated,
irritated he hired Mohandas Pai who went on to
Pai,
help Infosys list on Nasdaq.
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14. When is Doubt, Disclose
13
Keep your b k clean and leave the cooking to
books l dl h k
the chef. Murthy‘s philosophy about being open
and transparent has given the company a lot of
d h h l f
credibility. He often says, “When in doubt,
please d l
l disclose.”
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15. Leave the Family Out
14
Murthy told his wife that only one of them
could be with the company. Murthy, along with
p y y, g
other founders, said that none of their children
would work for Infosys. This left no room for
y
nepotism at Infosys.
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16. 15 Don’t be a Pushover
In 1994, when General Electric wanted to re
negotiate rates, Murthy said no to selling
rates
services any cheaper. This helped Infosys not
to be overly dependent on any one client
client.
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17. Make hay While the Sun Shines
16
In late ’ India’s Tech
I l t 90’s, I di ’ T h companies made use of
i d f
the Y2K opportunity to make themselves known
in th l b l
i the global market. For Infosys, it was i a
k t F I f in
great opportunity to enter into long-term
relationships with their customers.
l ti hi ith th i t
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18. Brand-
Brand-aid First, Get Clinical
17
When sexual h
h l harassment case against Infosys’ top
f
sales guy Phaneesh Murthy threatened to tarnish
the company’s brand, Murthy decided to quickly
h b d h d d d kl
react. He let go of Phaneesh, and settled the case
out of court despite Phaneesh wanting to fight it
f d h h f h
out.
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19. Mind your Business, you’ll See
d ll
18 Things Coming
Murthy carries and updates a mental model of
Infosys
Infosys’ business all the time According to
time.
him, every leader must have a model,
consisting of six to seven parameters that
might affect business.
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20. Keep it Simple, Not Silly
19
Keep your life simple and straight. That way,
you get to work more and worry less. Murthy is
known to be frugal with money. Despite being
one of the richest Indians, he leads a simple life.
However, he does not cut corners on buying
books or brushing up on literature.
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21. 20 Founders Keepers, but Not Forever
p ,
Murthy’s decision to not allow founders to
continue with the company after the age of 65
set another standard for the company. This
way, younger leaders at Infosys had a greater
chance at the top positions.
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22. Talent Spotting and Division of
21 Labour
L b
Murthy is known to have an eye for dividing
labour. Nandan was given sales responsibilities
g p
while Krish and Shibu did the tech stuff. N S
Raghavan was asked to handle people and
g p p
Dinesh was assigned quality.
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23. Hold on to Your People b d
ld l but don’t
22 Cling
Letting go is never easy but its not good to cling
on your colleagues either. Amongst the
founders, Ashok Arora, Nandan Nilekani and
K Dinesh have quit Infosys. Infy veteran
Mohandas Pai has also left Infosys.
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24. Give, it only gets you more
23
In
I 2010, th M th ’ d
the Murthy’s donated $ 5.2 million USD
t d illi
to Harvard University Press for a Project that
aims t make I di ’ classical h it
i to k India’s l i l heritage available
il bl
for generations to come. He is also supporter of
the Akshaya Patra F
th Ak h P t Foundation.
d ti
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25. Do it First and Do it Right
24
Infosys did many things First. And most
First
things right. For example, it was the first
Indian company to list on Nasdaq. It was the
Nasdaq
first Indian company to make it to the Nasdaq
100 list and it was the first Indian company to
attain the highest level of quality certification.
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26. Perils of Being a Poster Child
25
Being th
B i the poster child of Indian IT industry,
t hild f I di i d t
Infosys and Murthy have been at the receiving
end of many criticisms. Th company h b
d f iti i The has been
accused of taking away American jobs and been
called a “ h shop.”
ll d “chop h ”
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27. Get Rich. Honestly
26
Rich businesses were considered to be dirty in
y
the days when the country had a socialist bent.
Infy was a company which g rid of this
y p y got
sentiment. Murthy, with his ‘no compromise’
p y
policy on g
greasing palms and doing ethical
gp g
business, set the standards.
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28. Do Not b Afraid to Court
be f d
27 Controversy
Ever since Infosys became a success, Murthy
was under constant public glare. This did not
glare
deter the straight talking Murthy from
courting controversy or voicing his opinions
openly.
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29. Invest in Learning
28
With big investments in training development
training,
building facilities, India’s IT bell-weather has
always been keen on grooming the younger
generation. Murthy drove the culture of
learning in the company in its early days
days.
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30. Never Lose the Common Touch
29
The big man of Indian IT kept his personal life
simple, middle class house and flies economy
till date. Murthy has always been accessible to
people around him.
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31. Do good, look good
30
Murthy knew the importance of creating an
image for Infosys. He invested in creating a
sprawling,
sprawling world class campuses early on on,
bigger than any other’s headquarters in the
country,
country that would make his global customers
feel like they were in a global office.
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32. N
R He is a visionary, is
forthright and resolute in
N
A
action. His contribution
R to the industry has been
A phenomenal and his
Y
A efforts have been
N instrumental in putting
M
India on the global map. I
U wish him the very best
R for the next phase of
T
H his life. AZIM PREMJI
CHAIRMAN, WIPRO
Y
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33. N
R When I was in the US
during 1993-94 Murthy
1993 94,
N
A
said the action was
R shifting to India and
A asked me to come back
Y
A and take charge of the
N support functions. I
M
wondered then why, but
U later realized that it
R helped me with very
T
H good learning. S GOPALAKRISHNAN
Y CO FOUNDER, INFOSYS
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34. N
R After many unpleasant
N
conversations with M
ti ith Mr.
A Murthy, I finally
R decided to take his
d id d t t k hi
A
Y advice and get a diary.
A The impact it h d on
Th i t had
N
my professional and
M personal life was
l lif
U phenomenal.
R
T
H
SD SHIBULAL
Y CO FOUNDER, INFOSYS
FOUNDER
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35. N
R Whenever we got
N
requests f
t from ministers
i i t
A and bureaucrats,
R Murthy
M th would say hi
ld hire
A
Y only on merit. There
A were repercussions b t
i but
N
Murthy was always
M clear not t give i t
l t to i in to
U pressure.
R
T
NS RAGHAVAN
H CO FOUNDER, INFOSYS
Y
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36. N
He always spoke about
R
how he hired his co-
N founders and why they
A
R were the best because
A he had hired them,
Y making us angry and
g g y
A
N despondent. He heard
my arguments gladly,
y g g y,
M
U always patient and
R sparring with him was
T the best.
H MOHANDAS PAI
Y FORMER INFOSYS LEADER
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37. N
After an i
Af interview with
i ih
R Patni, I was waiting in
N the corridor when
h id h
A Murthy walked up to me.
R
A
He ld
H told me that h would
h he ld
Y make me the offer but
A his
hi concern was whether
h h
N
I would accept it. He
M said it would b a risk
id ld be i k
U
R
but it would be worth it.
T And h t turning point
A d what a t i i t
H for me. K DINESH
Y
CO FOUNDER, INFOSYS
FOUNDER
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38. N
R
N The best d i
Th b t advice
A Murthy gave me
R
A
is to take honest
i t t k h t
Y feedback with
A grace and d
N
humility.
M
U
R
T
H NILEKANI
CO FOUNDER, INFOSYS
Y
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39. MR. N R NARAYAN MURTHY
Founder & Mentor, Infosys
Text Courtesy: News Paper, The Economic Times, Dated 19th August 2011