One of the world's most respected business leaders owes much of his success to the failings of an elephant.
Vivek Paul, who recently decided to step down as CEO of Wipro Technologies to become a venture capitalist, says one key to his achievement is a sharp focus on improving business processes. The other major factor has to do with the "soft" side of management--he says people tend to limit themselves.
Encouraging Wipro employees to bust self-imposed boundaries may have helped Paul lead his business to ramp up revenue from $150 million in 1999 to $1.4 billion in 2004.
But it was his encounter with an elephant outside of Bangalore more than a dozen years ago that crystallized this philosophy.
Paul was curious why an elephant tied to a small stake in the ground did not yank it up and be on its way. The animal's handler explained that baby elephants tied to similar stakes learn they can't break free. As elephants grow older and stronger, they don't test the stake again--thereby remaining trapped by what should be an obsolete restraint.
"I said, 'By gosh! That's probably relevant to people as well,'" Paul said.
(Source: CNET News.com)
July 2004 August 2004 November 2004 December 2004 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007