1. Inspiring excerpts from
Azim Premji’s
Premji s
“ Take charge of your career destiny “
IIT –Delhi Convocation 2010
Compiled & visuals by Ramki

2. Prelude
The funny thing about life is that you realise the value of something only when it
begins to leave you. As my hair turned from black, to salt and pepper and finally
salt without th pepper, I h
lt ith t the have bbegun t realise th enthusiasm and excitement of
to li the th i d it t f
youth. At the same time, I have begun to truly appreciate some of the lessons I
have learnt along the way.
As you embark on your careers, I would like to share them with you. I am hoping
that you will find them as useful as I have. The world you are entering is in many
ways very different now from what it was when I began my career. It was the late
sixties and India still depended on other countries for something as basic as food.
We aroused sympathy, not admiration whenever we went overseas. Recently,
someone told me, that when visitors came to India then, they came to see what
they could do for India Now they come to see what India can do for them As a
India. Now, them.
hopeful Indian, I look at our country as one which is rich in ethnic and cultural
diversity and one that has an effective, secular democracy which will help us build
an enduring society.

3. Lesson-1-Take Charge
L 1 T k Ch
 When you take up a job , do not look for a
cushy job . Look for a challenging role &
y j g g
opportunities for learning
 Leadership begins within
 Believe in yourself and your inner voice
 Your career depends on you & you have to
take charge of your destiny

4. Lesson-2 -Earn your happiness
 A rupee earned is far more value than five
found
 What is inherited or gifted – an old saying
come easy and go easy
 Value is known only if we struggle to earn it

5. Lesson-3-Nothing
Lesson 3 Nothing succeeds like failure
 Life has many challenges
 You win some & you lose some
 Enjoy winning , but let this not go to your head
 If this happens you are heading for failure
 Failure is a natural phenomenon
 When you lose, you do not lose the lesson

6. Lesson-4-Nothing f il lik success
L 4 N thi fails like
 Importance of humility- Thin line of difference
g
between confidence & arrogance
 Confident people are always open to learning &
willingness to learning
 Arrogance on the other hand stops learning

7. Lesson-5-There has to be a better way
L 5 Th h t b b tt
 Excellence is not a destination & it is a
journey
 Excellence & creativity go hand in hand
 No matter how well we do things, there has
to be a better way

8. Lesson-6-Respond & N t react
L 6R d Not t
 Th
There i a world of diff
is ld f difference b t
between th
the
two in terms of success & failure
 The difference is that the mind comes in
between responding & reacting
 When we respond , we evaluate with a clam
mind and do what is right & appropriate We
appropriate.
are in control of our actions
 When we react we are still doing what the
g
other person wants us to do

9. Lesson-7-Remain
Lesson 7 Remain physically active
 It i easy t t k h lth f granted when you
is to take health for t d h
are young
 Exercise improves the quality of time & also
p q y
reduces the time you need to sleep
 The truth is that stress will only increase in a
global world
 You should have own mechanism to deal
with it

10. Lesson-8-Never compromise on your core values
L 8N i l
 O must d fi what you stand f
One t define h t t d for
 You must open the windows of your mind,
but you must not be swept off your feet
y p y
by the breeze
 The truth is that stress will only increase in a
global world
 You should have own mechanism to deal
with it

11. Lesson-9-Play to win
 Pl i
Playing t win b i
to i brings out b t i us and i
t best in d in
our teams
 It brings out
g
 Our desire to stretch
 To achieve that seems beyond our
grasp
 It is not about winning at any cost & also not
winning at the expense of others
 It is about innovating all the time
 It is a continuous endeavor to better than
last time

12. Lesson-10-Give back to society
 All of us h
f have a collective
ll ti social
i l
responsibility to do our bit
 Of all the challenges the key is Education
g y
 The paradox is
 On one hand we have jobs chasing
scarce talent
 On other hand , rampant unemployment
and poverty
 The only way to bridge these two ends of the
pole is by providing quality education that is
accessible to all