Indians are laid back, it reflects in our work, says Narayana Murthy

Infosys chairman emeritus NR Narayana Murthy considers most projects in India get delayed because “we people are not disciplined and, like most Asian countries, not much bothered about losing face or credibility”.

He expressed these thoughts at the valedictory seminar organised by the Bangalore chapter of Project Management Institute on Saturday.

He spoke at length about how the laidback approach, which he said was a part of our culture, was affecting the success of project management in the country.

He said Indians’ overall performance was less than glorious. “Unless we overcome this cultural lacunae, we may not succeed,” he said.

Murthy said the higher up in hierarchy a person is, the more easily he/she could violate norms. To foster innovation, he said there is a need to create an environment that is open, rewards merit and the most important idea, not the hierarchy of men and women.

Further, the IT veteran stressed upon the urgent need to alleviate poverty. He said this could be done by creating more jobs with higher disposable incomes. For this, he said, entrepreneurs must be encouraged. He said entrepreneurship is about converting an idea into wealth and creating jobs.

“Entrepreneurship is all about deferred gratification. There are a lot of sacrifices to be made in the initial stages. One must be prepared for their fair share of hardship and obstacles along the way,” he added.

Murthy urged youngsters  not to let go of the opportunity they have to eradicate poverty.

“Create an India where even the poorest child has access to basic food, education, healthcare and shelter. Today’s youth are in a position to leave such a legacy behind,” he said.

Dismissing the debate on the Indian IT sector losing out to other countries due to inflating costs, Murthy said: “As long as we deliver 99% of the projects on time and our quality matches up to global standards, projects will continue to come to India.”