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Thought
provoking speech by Azim Premji
At the 37th Annual Convocation 2002, IIM, Ahmedabad
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While change and uncertainty have always been
a part of life, what has been shocking over
the last year has been both the quantum and
suddenness of change.
For
many people who were cruising along on placid
waters, the wind was knocked out of their
sails. The entire logic of doing business
was turned on its head. Not only business,
but also every aspect of human life has
been impacted by the change. What lies ahead
is even more dynamic and uncertain. I would
like to use this opportunity to share with
you some of our own guiding principles of
staying afloat in a changing world. This
is based on our experience in Wipro. I hope
you find them useful.
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First,
be alert for the first signs of change.
Change descends on everyone equally; it
is just that some realize it faster. Some
changes are sudden but many others are gradual.
While sudden changes get attention because
they are dramatic, it is the gradual changes
that are ignored till it is too late. You
must have all heard of story of the frog
in boiling water. If the temperature of
the water is suddenly increased, the frog
realizes it and jumps out of the water.
But if the temperature is very slowly increased,
one degree at a time, the frog does not
realize it till it boils to death. You must
develop your own early warning system, which
warns you of changes and calls your attention
to it. In the case of change, being forewarned
is being forearmed.
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Second,
anticipate change even when things are going
right. Most people wait for something to
go wrong before they think of change. It
is like going to the doctor for a check
up only when you are seriously sick or thinking
of maintaining your vehicle only when it
breaks down. The biggest enemy of future
success is past success. When you succeed,
you feel that you must be doing something
right for it to happen. But when the parameters
for success change, doing the same things
may or may not continue to lead to success.
Guard against complacency all the time.
Complacency makes you blind to the early
signals from the environment that something
is going wrong.
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Third,
always look at the opportunities that change
represents. Managing change has a lot to
go with our own attitude towards it. It
is the proverbial half-full or half empty
glass approach. For every problem that change
represents, there is an opportunity lurking
in disguise somewhere. It is up to you to
spot it before someone else does
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Fourth,
do no allow routines to become chains. For
many of us the routine we have got accustomed
to obstructs change. Routines represent
our own zones of comfort. There is a sense
of predictability about them. They have
structured our time and even our thought
in a certain way. While routines are useful,
do not let them enslave you. Deliberately
break out of them from time to time
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Fifth,
realize that fear of the unknown is natural.
With change comes a feeling of insecurity.
Many people believe that brave people are
not afflicted by this malady. The truth
is different. Every one feels the fear of
unknown. Courage is not the absence of fear
but the ability to manage fear without getting
paralyzed. Feel the fear, but move on regardless.
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