Azim Hassim Premji is an Indian business tycoon, investor and a philanthropist who is also the chairman of Wipro limited. He is informally and famously known as Czar of Indian IT industry. He is the one man responsible for guiding the company through four decades of diversification before turning into one of the world’s most powerful leaders in software industry.The company, which was called Western Indian Vegetable Products earlier, dealt in hydrogenated oil manufacturing but Azim Premji later diversified the company to bakery fats, ethnic ingredient based toiletries, hair care soaps, baby toiletries, lighting products, and hydraulic cylinders. Wipro is now one of the leading IT companies and an emerging world-class player at international level.
Mr. Azim Premji has always followed his success mantra, “keep striving for excellence” and has stuck with it throughout his life. He imparts many experimented yet brilliant lessons for the upcoming entrepreneurs of our country.
1. Know your strengths
Every coin has two faces. Likewise, every individual has strengths as well as weaknesses. One must learn to identify it. From turning a $2 million hydrogenated cooking fat company to $7 billion company in over 60 plus countries; Azim Premji has always listened to his inner voice and followed it throughout his life. An event was held by AIMA and Bombay Management Association where Mr. Azim Premji said, “It’s important to cherish the good in us because it is only our strengths that help us correct our weaknesses.”
2. Farsightedness
To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. Azim Premji has always believed that changes in a business environment are inevitable. The 69 years old philanthropist advises his followers to be prepared for future changes. One must be fully equipped and warned even when everything is going right. He has rightly said, “being forewarned is equal to being forearmed.”
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3. Stay grounded
Every successful business tycoon we see has one thing in common. They all are down-to-earth. There is always a series of success. One should not let success get into his/her head because that could lead him/her to failure. Also, failure is as natural a phenomenon as success. One learns from his/her mistakes. So, keep learning and moving.
4. Stick to your values
The values and ethics of a person define his character. There is always some value stuck with the kind of business we are running. Azim Premji firmly believes that success in business follows eventually but is inevitable when we stick to our ethics.
He has always quoted, “once you stand by what you believe in and don’t compromise with it under any circumstances; you become resilient to stand up to crisis”, a quality much adored by entrepreneurs!
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5. Have faith
A business revolves around an idea. Azim Premji believed in having faith in one’s own idea and sticking to it. A great business emerges when everybody else around you starts to criticize it and the task seems to be impossible. Azim Premji always had faith in his prospect of diversifying Wipro and now we can very well see where his idea has taken the firm.
6. Initiative
Wipro wouldn’t have happened if Azim Premji hadn’t come to the IT industry as an almoner four decades ago. He was 21 when he completed his schooling in Stanford University of Engineering School at California. People around him asked him to take up a 9 to 5 job rather than taking up risk of running hydrogenated oil business. But being a born-leader, he channeled his idea into this world class IT giant.
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7. Trust your instincts
Our elders have always taught us to trust our inner instincts. Likewise, Azim Premji always did what he thought is beneficiary for the company and every time that turned out to be the right decision. As quoted by Premji himself, “it is important to realize that our intuition is a very important part of decision making. Many things are recorded by our subconscious. Use both sides of the brain. Even that is not enough. Some decisions need the use of the heart as well. When you use your mind and heart together, you may get a completely new and creative answer.”
8. Group efforts
Life throws many difficult challenges at us which can’t be faced alone by an individual. Teaming with others divides the workload and there is no stress left for a single person alone. Azim Premji believes that one must build a strong network of people who are more than willing to help you. Surround yourself around people with complimentary skills or else you will stay limited to your knowledge.
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9. Never lose your zest and curiosity
Passion and curiosity to learn are the keys to success. Premji has rightly said that remaining on top will always be the greatest challenge for you. The only trick to be “consistently successful” is working your ass off and win. Market conditions wait for none and therefore you must always be on your toes. The basic driving force behind achieving something is the natural zest and curiosity of an individual. Azim ji had a habit of reading for ten hours every week. He never lost his desire to gain more knowledge. That’s a sign of a great entrepreneur.
10. Dealing with stress
There was a time when retiring was way more stressful than starting a job. Today’s young generation is facing a lot of stress these days because the workload is more than imagined and they cannot deal with it single-handedly. Sometimes it’s natural to be stressed but one must develop an inner mechanism to fight such stress. Azim Premji feels that to face difficulties in life, hell lot of energy is required. So, it’s very important to kill your inner demon and start working towards your goal.
Ankita Rathore
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