“Stay humble, stay hungry” was an advice that Rishad Premji always followed, given by his father Azim Premji, said Rishad Premji while speaking at an event on November 26.
"He was quite clear that Wipro will not be a family business. There were no other family members as a part of the organisation till I joined in 2007,” he said during his conversation with Nasscom President Debjani Ghosh at the Ascent eConclave.
Although the business has undergone a lot of changes since its genesis in 1945, he says that the values of the organisation remain the same. “Strategies can evolve, based on the situation you are in, but the one thing that can help you survive these situations is the strength of your values, what you stand for, what you build, and your purpose as an organisation,” he says.
“Our values have not changed much over the last 50 years, the essence has remained the same. It was called Wipro Beliefs in 1971, the Wipro Promise in 1998, and it is called the Spirit of Wipro today,” he added.
The company onboarded Thierry Delaporte as CEO a little over a year ago, who is looking at focusing on the clientele while Premji has played a significant role in transforming the culture.
On the cultural front, the company is changing the ways it measures employees’ performance. It is also focusing more on collaborations, sharing feedback across functions. Premji also reiterated the importance of skilling, upskilling and the need to stay relevant at a time when everything is so fast-paced.
However, answering one of the most relevant questions in today’s time about burnout, he said, “I exercise 5 days a week and get good sleep. Also, the pandemic has taught us that life is not just about work and hence drawing a line from a young age is very important.”
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