Azim Premji Quotes

The three ordinary things that we often don't pay enough attention to, but which I believe are the drivers of all success, are hard work, perseverance, and basic honesty.

You cannot get into business for the fashion of it.

I think the most important reason for our success is that very early in our quest into globalisation, we invested in people - and we have done that consistently and particularly in the service business.

There's a reasonable amount of traction in college education, particularly engineering, because quite a lot of that is privatized, so there is an incentive to set up new colleges of reasonably high quality.

The concept of the strong linkage to the family is breaking down in Western nations.

If the United States wants access to Chinese, Indian or Vietnamese markets, we must get access to theirs. U.S. protectionism is very subtle but it is very much there.

I think that any wealth creates a sense of trusteeship ... it is characteristic of the new generation which has created wealth to have some amount of responsibility for it.

Colleges produce more sports therapists than engineers. Perhaps because America is a sporty country: a lot of outdoors.

Being in the consumer business helps us groom talent in areas like marketing, finance and logistics. We can benchmark our outsourcing business to our consumer business and its best practices.

I think the advantage of democracy is that it makes us less dependent on a group of leaders.

You must get engaged with people who are far less privileged than you. I think you must devote your time if not your resources ... Because it is very, very important from the point of view of the development of our country.

We've always seen ourselves as Indian. We've never seen ourselves as Hindus or Muslims or Christians or Buddhists.

If one has been blessed or have been fortunate enough to have got much more than normal wealth, it is but natural that one expects a certain fiduciary responsibility in terms of how that wealth is applied, used and leveraged for purposes of society.

With the attention I got on my wealth, I thought I would have become a source of resentment, but it is just the other way around - it just generates that much more ambition in many people.

I strongly believe that those of us, who are privileged to have wealth, should contribute significantly to try and create a better world for the millions who are far less privileged

How can you contribute towards building the Indian society and the Indian nation? No better way than to upgrade the quality of young people in school, particularly the schools which are run by the state government in the villages.

Character is one factor that will guide all our actions and decisions.
We invested in uncompromising integrity that helped us take difficult stands in some of the most difficult business situations.

Our experience is that it is not terribly difficult to do business in China. But the issue is, how much stability do you have in terms of what you negotiate up front and when you've got your feet and your investments on the ground.

There are millions of children today who don't attend school. However, education is the only way to get ahead in this country.

The responsibility of philanthropy rests with us. The wealthier we are, the more powerful we get. We cannot put the entire onus on the government.

Inflation is taking up the poverty line, and poverty is not just economic but defined by way of health and education.

The Western world loves liberalisation, provided it doesn't affect them.

People have to take control of their own lives. Education is key because it also raises other social indicators like healthcare.

I can't have my employees sitting in traffic when they should be in the office. Spending two-and-half hours in the car is a huge waste of productive time.

Success is achieved twice. Once in the mind and the second time in the real world.

You cannot underestimate the value of luck in success in life. And I've really learned to appreciate that.

The U.S. is a complex country. It has a high predominance of immigrants who have been eminently successful.

I.B.M. was not really bringing their best technologies to India. They were dumping old machines in the country that had been thrown away in the rest of the world 10 years before.

You cannot mandate philanthropy. It has to come from within, and when it does, it is deeply satisfying.

I can speak English. I can speak Hindi. I can understand one or two other languages.

Leadership is the self-confidence of working with people smarter than you.

There are 600 districts in India. Every district in India has a teacher-training institute.

People are the key to success or extraordinary success.

You cannot have a society where you spend more than you earn. I mean, it's just fundamentally not viable in the long run.

We give people major responsibilities even if they are only 60 per cent ready. Our experience is that people are pretty elastic when you give them responsibility, and they just grow rapidly with the job.

The early years were more about learning than about acting.
I had to carry on my father's work, which was a big challenge.