Narayana Murthy’s Advice to a 12-Year-Old: ‘Don’t Be Like Me, Aim to Be Better’
Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy offered heartfelt advice to a young 12-year-old student during Teach for India Leaders Week, urging him not to follow in his footsteps but instead to forge his own path. “I don’t want you to become like me. I want you to become better than me for the greater good of the nation,” Murthy said, emphasizing the importance of self-growth and making a difference.
Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy offered heartfelt advice to a young 12-year-old student during Teach for India Leaders Week, urging him not to follow in his footsteps but instead to forge his own path. “I don’t want you to become like me. I want you to become better than me for the greater good of the nation,” Murthy said, emphasizing the importance of self-growth and making a difference.
According to a report by The Times of India, Murthy highlighted the importance of discipline and leadership, recalling lessons from his father and his personal experiences. He credited his father for instilling the value of time management, which was instrumental in helping him secure fourth rank in the state SSLC exam. “My father taught me to manage time through a timetable,” he said.
Murthy shared an anecdote from his time as a young engineer in Paris, where he accidentally erased a computer system’s memory while testing a program. Faced with a potential project collapse, his boss, Colin, worked alongside him for 22 hours straight to restore the system. “Colin praised my dedication but never mentioned his own sacrifice. He taught me a critical leadership lesson: take full responsibility for failures and share the glory with your team,” Murthy said.
He also recalled a valuable lesson from his headmaster during his SSLC days, stressing the importance of communal resources. His headmaster, during a chemistry experiment, had remarked, “This common salt belongs to everyone in this school, not just me. We must treat it with care.”
Murthy’s lessons extended beyond technical skills to teamwork and leadership. He recounted a lesson he learned at IIM-Ahmedabad, where a professor taught him to value the message over the method of delivery, saying, “The lesson learned is more important than how it’s communicated.”
Sources By Agencies
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