Is Mr. Narayan Murthy a born leader or made leader?

“Our assets walk out of the door each evening. We have to make sure that they come
back the next morning.” – Mr.Narayan Murthy
“It is our vision at Infosys, to create world-class leaders who will be at the for
efront of business and technology in today's competitive marketplace... – Mr.Naray
an Murthy
Born v/s Made Leader has been a point of discussion among various behavioral sci
entists. Some believe that leaders are born with the essential qualities that ma
ke them successful as a leader. Others believe that leadership can be learned an
d developed through life. In my opinion, it depends on how you define leadership
. If leadership means being spirited and willing to do things differently and be
able to be a people’s champion, I would think that leaders do not have to be born
as such. There are many people who consider themselves introverts and overall f
ollowers become successful leaders when faced with an issue they are passionate
about. Most leadership qualities can be developed, given adequate amounts of key
personal characteristics, notably intelligence and physical energy. Mr. Narayan
Murthy according to me is a made leader. We all have areas of our lives where w
e have talent and penchant for success. He certainly overcame many obstacles and
for Mr. Murthy leadership has been an apprentice trade. In his childhood he was
short and could have gone unnoticed in the crowd. He started his career as head
of the computer centre at IIM, Ahmedabad. In 1972, he went to Paris where he wa
s part of the team that designed a 400-terminal, real-time operating system for
handling air cargo for an airport. In 1975, he returned to India and joined Syst
ems Research Institute, Pune, (Maharashtra). He then headed Patni Computer Syste
ms Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, (Maharashtra) before founding Infosys in 1981, along with
six other professionals. Thus, he has evolved as a leader by improving himself b
y getting feedback and using it. The best leaders seek feedback from their boss,
their peers and their subordinates. Leaders learn by trying things out and then
critiquing their performance. The only failure they recognize is the failure to
learn from experience. Narayana Murthy was rejected by Wipro before he started
Infosys. Thus, his journey as a leader has been that of intelligence, feedback w
ith lot of hard work, determination and integrity.
Which is a better leader? Family business leaders or Entrepreneurial leader?
Although there can be no generalization of whether a family business leader or a
n entrepreneurial leader is better, however in my opinion if we look at the amou
nt of conviction, commitment and risk taken by a person to start and sustain a b
usiness, the amount of effort put by a person without any family business backu
p is definitely commendable.
The amount of adversity that an entrepreneur faces is extremely large. From the
case study ‘Narayana Murthy and Infosys we can understand how Narayana Murthy tur
ned a small software development venture that he had set up with his friends in
1981, into one of the leading companies of the country. Mr. Murthy came from a p
oor but educated family. His father was a high-school teacher and an avid reader
of English literature. In January 1981, seven people created Infosys. All of th
em had lots of hope, confidence, commitment, energy, enthusiasm, hard work, pass
ion and a sense of sacrifice. They had everything but were short of one thing, m
oney. They had about $250 in seed capital. According to Mr. Murthy “We never dream
t about size, revenues and profits. Our dream, right from day one, was to build
a corporation that was, above all things, respected. From the beginning, our tea
m was unique in our commitment to a strong value system. We believed in putting
the interest of the company ahead of our own interest. We believed in legal and
ethical business”. Irrespective of lots of hurdles and challenges, they succeeded
in building an organization that was respected across the country, with very str
ong systems, high ethical values and a nurturing working atmosphere. In February
2001, Infosys Technologies Ltd. (Infosys) was voted as the Best Managed Company
in Asia in the Information Technology sector, in a leading financial magazine.
Narayana Murthy set up a Leadership Institute in Mysore, India, to manage the f
uture growth of Infosys and to create future business leaders. That shows his vi
sion to create future leaders from what may be current managers. Thus, for an en
trepreneurial leader, Mr. Murthy is a perfect illustration of “leading by example”.