Excellence

Infosys hosted its Annual Awards for Excellence (AFE) today. If there is ever a lesson you need on how a multi-country-multi-city-annual-corporate event must be conducted, this is it. Every step of the 2.5 hour event is amazingly choreographed, seamlessly integrated and flawlessly presented by Infoscions every step of the way.

 

All global Infosys locations participate simultaneously in the AFE. Hence, when award announcements are made for a project / unit that comprises of members working across several locations, the team members across these locations can walk up to the stage simultaneously to collect their awards. To me, it seems that we have not only pioneered the global delivery model but have also refined the global recognition model. The AFE celebrates the best of values that Infosys represents viz. Excellence.

 

We also invite an eminent personality as the Chief Guest for the AFE who represents excellence in his / her field of work. Anil Kumble has been here before and so has Barkha Dutt. Naseeruddin Shah was invited in 2010 while 2011 was the year of A.R. Rehman. Today, it was the versatile Anupam Kher.

 

When greats speak to you, what remain in your mind are their simple words and rustic wisdom. When you stop fearing failure, Mr. Kher said, you automatically start on a path to excellence. Learn to listen well and learn from others. And above all, an actor must always remember that he is no different than a carpenter. Both of them just execute things. But an actor lets things get to his head because he sees others write something about him. That reminded me so much about Naseeruddin Shah's speech about excellence a couple of years ago. We all start small. We just want to do the simple things right. Excellence comes much later.

 

Starting small. Listening. Staying true to yourself. Remaining grounded. That’s the path to excellence for you. How easy to remember. And how easily we forget….