Azim Hashim Premji: Extraordinary compassionate Indian entrepreneur

Part 61

Azim Hashim Premji (born July 24, 1945) is an Indian business tycoon, investor, engineer and philanthropist. He is popularly known as the Czar of the Indian IT industry.

He is Chairman of Wipro Limited – an Indian International IT company and was responsible for guiding the company through four decades of diversification and growth to finally emerge as one of the global leaders in the software industry.

Premji’s father was a well-known businessman and wanted his son to continue his business. Premji studied at Stanford University, USA, where he gained his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree.

When his father died, he was just 21 years old and had to take control over the running of the family business, which produced vanaspati, a widely used hydrogenated shortening. 

Premji recalls his first shareholders’ meeting: “Someone stood up and said, ‘Young man, my strong advice is that you sell your shares to a more mature holder. There’s no way you can run a complex company like this.’” Premji felt nervous but held on.

What he learnt and experienced in the USA, he put into practice. He modernised and diversified the company delving into consumer products such as soap, shoes and light bulbs, as well as hydraulic cylinders. He named his company Wipro Group. Then when IBM left India in the late 1970s, he spotted an historic opportunity.

“That created a vacuum,” he told Daily Telegraph in 2010.

“We got our act right. We took the right bets, invested in people, research and development, after-sales service and IT solutions and were extremely successful,”

He established himself in computer manufacture, software programming and IT services, creating one of India’s leading technology companies. The company sold directly to corporate customers and provided after-sales service, stressing reliability and establishing the brand before establishing a dealer network. The company assembled products for major manufacturers such as Canon, Epson, Hewlett-Packard and Sun and distributed software from companies such as Adobe.

In 1985, Wipro bought up with Taiwanese personal computer manufacturer Acer and then went its own way to produce India’s first indigenous PC.

In the 1990s, Premji led the company in the development of IT services to clients in many industry sectors in India but also to overseas clients: improvements in telecommunications meant that a high-tech service such as software development and research and development could be delivered to clients anywhere in the world at competitive costs, taking advantage of India’s lower cost of living. Before long, Wipro grew into one of the world’s leading software and outsourced service providers.

Then he moved into other industries like packaging, bakery fats, shampoos and toiletries and then lighting, constantly seeking to move the company into higher technologies. 

Premji’s 79 percent shareholding in Wipro has made him one of the world’s wealthiest people. In 2001, he founded the Azim Premji Foundation Trust, devoted to the goal of achieving universal educational opportunities. In 2010, Premji pledged to donate US $ 2 billion to improving school education in India – the largest charitable donation ever in the country’s history.
Forbes Asia recently announced Premji as Asia’s most generous philanthropist, giving away shares worth US $ 7.6 billion in his tech firm Wipro to his education-centred Azim Premji Foundation. Premji retired in July 2019 as Wipro’s Executive Chairman.

What lessons can we learn from Azim Hashim Premji?
1. Know your strengths
Every individual has strengths as well as weaknesses. One must learn to identify both. From turning a US $ 2 million hydrogenated cooking fat company to US $ 7 billion company, in over 60 plus countries. Premji has always listened to his inner voice and followed it throughout his life. He once 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. Premji has always believed that changes in a business environment are inevitable. He always advised 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.”

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. Premji also kept 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. 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.

5. Have faith
A business revolves around an idea. 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 criticise it and the task seems to be impossible. 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. Trust your instincts
Our elders have always taught us to trust our inner instincts. Likewise, 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 realise 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.”

7. 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. Premji believes that one must build a strong network of people who are more than willing to help you. Surround yourself around people with complementary skills or else you will stay limited to your knowledge.

8. 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. 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. Premji had a habit of reading for 10 hours every week. He never lost his desire to gain more knowledge. That’s a sign of a great entrepreneur.

9. Dealing with stress
Today’s young generation is facing a lot of stress 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. Premji feels that to face difficulties in life, lot of energy is required. So, it’s very important to kill your inner demon and start working towards your goal.
(Lionel Wijesiri is a retired company director with over 30 years’ experience in senior business management.  Presently he is a freelance journalist and could be contacted on [email protected])