The 'Founder's Syndrome'

An organisation can't be run in the belief that the founder will be around forever

N R Narayana Murthy never ceases to surprise — the latest was his comment that leaving Infosys in 2014 was the biggest regret of his life. This was a disappointing statement from a man who had in the past spoken endlessly about the need for India Inc to have truly independent boards and an empowered professional management. Infosys has a board, comprising some of the leading names in Indian industry, and a managing director whom Murthy hand-picked — yet, the co-founder chooses to make a public statement about his “regret” of leaving early. The signal that goes out to the