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Among others, Wipro has recently won the prestigious 'Risk Management
Award,' instituted by the Financial Times-The Banker magazine. What
is that which makes this company so successful? "An obsession for
excellence," says Azim Premji, Chairman & Managing Director, Wipro
Limited.
Chairman and Managing Director of Wipro, Premji is credited with
transforming Wipro, his family's vegetable oil business, into one of
the world's foremost software company.
Although one of the richest Indians, he flies economy class and is
happiest when hiking, reading or discussing the foundation he has set
up to promote primary education.
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These are changing times. Yet in the middle of all the changes there
is one thing that constantly determines success. Some call it
leadership. But to my mind, it is the single-minded pursuit of
excellence.
Excellence endures and sustains. It goes beyond motivation into the
realms of inspiration. Excellence can be as strong a uniting force as
solid vision.
Excellence does not happen in a vacuum. It needs a collective
obsession as I have experienced the benefits of excellence in my own
life. Excellence is a great starting point for any new organisation
but also an unending journey. What is excellence? It is about going a
little beyond what we expect from ourselves. Part of the need for
excellence is imposed on us externally by our customers. Our
competition keeps us on our toes, especially when it is global in
nature.
But the other driver of excellence is internal. I have found that
excellence is not so much a battle you fight with others, but a
battle you fight with yourself, by constantly raising the bar and
stretching yourself and your team. This is the best and the most
satisfying and challenging part about excellence.
How does one create excellence in an organisation?
First, we create an obsession with excellence. We must dream of it
not only because it delivers better results but because we truly
believe in it and find it intrinsically satisfying to us.
We must think of excellence not only with our mind but also with our
heart and soul. Let us look outside, at the global standards of
excellence in quality, cost and delivery and let us not rest till we
surpass them.
Second, we need to build a collective self-confidence. Organisations
and people who pursue excellence are self-confident. This is because
excellence requires tremendous faith in one's ability to do more and
in a better way. Unless, we believe we can do better, we cannot.
Third, we must understand the difference between perfection for its
own sake and excellence. Time is of essence. Globalisation has made
the customer only more impatient. This may seem like a paradox:
should we aim for excellence or should we aim for speed?
Excellence is about doing the best we can and speed lies in doing it
quickly. These two concepts are not opposed to each other; in fact,
speed and timeliness are important elements of quality and excellence.
Fourth, we must realise that we cannot be the best in everything we
do. We must define what we are or would like to be best at and what
someone else can do better.
Excellence is no longer about being the best in India. It is about
being the best in the world. We have to define what our own core
competencies are and what we can outsource to other leaders.
Headaches shared are headaches divided.
Fifth, we must create processes that enable excellence. Today, there
are a number of global methods and processes available whether it is
Six Sigma, CMM or ISO. Use them because they are based on distilled
wisdom collected from the best companies in the world.
Also, we must build a strong foundation of information technology,
because in this complex, dynamic world, it is imperative that we use
the most modern tools to keep processes updated.
Sixth, we must create a culture of teaming. I have found that while
great individuals are important, one cannot have pockets of
excellence. Quality gives ample opportunities to build a culture of
teaming. Cross-functional teams that are customer facing can cut
through an amazing amount of bureaucracy, personal empire building
and silos and deliver savings that one would not have imagined
possible.
The other advantage of building teams focussed on quality is that the
teaming culture eventually spreads to the rest of the organisation
and teaming becomes a way of life.
Seventh, invest in excellence for the future. Future always seems to
be at a distance. But it comes upon you so suddenly that it catches
you by surprise, if not shock. What constitutes excellence in the
future will be significantly different from what it is today.
In these days of severe market pressures, there is big temptation to
sacrifice the future to look good in the present. We must certainly
trim our discretionary expenses, but we must ensure that our
investments in strategic areas that lead to excellence in the future
are protected.
Finally, excellence requires humility. This is especially needed when
we feel we have reached the peak of excellence and there is nothing
further we can do. We need an open mind to look at things in a
different way and allow new inputs to come in.
Otherwise, there is a real danger of becoming complacent or even
downright arrogant. I would like to end my talk with a story that
illustrates this very well.
A brilliant young professor went to meet a famous Zen master to have
a discussion with him on Zen. He found himself in front of a modest
house. He rang the doorbell and waited. A while later, he heard
shuffling footsteps and the door was opened by the Zen master.
He invited the professor to sit with him on the dining table. The
professor was a little disappointed with the shabby appearance of the
Zen master. He started quizzing him immediately on comparative
philosophies and the Zen master gave some brief answers.
When the professor began to debate with him on those answers, the Zen
master stopped speaking and kept smiling at him. Finally, the
professor got angry. He said, "I have come from a long distance just
to understand the relevance of Zenism. But apparently you have
nothing to say. I have not learnt anything from you at all."
At this point, the Zen master asked the professor to have some tea.
When the professor held the cup, the Zen master started pouring tea
into it. After some time, the tea started spilling and the professor
shouted, "Stop! The cup can contain no more."
The Zen Master stopped and then, once again smiling, he said, "A
mind, full of itself can receive nothing. How can I speak to you of
Zenism until you empty your mind to learn." The professor understood
and apologized to the Zen master. He parted from him, the Zen master -
- a wiser man.
The author is Chairman & Managing Director, Wipro Limited.