Top 10 quotes of Tata Sons Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran

Every position I have ever tried in TCS has been an end in itself — full of rich experiences and leaning — and not the means to an end.

I don't see our business getting impacted by the outcomes of the US elections or due to Brexit, because technology investments will continue to take place as companies know the positive outcomes of that.

TCS, he says, has always rewarded people who are willing to push the envelope. Chandra was the first person with masters in computer applications (MCA) to be hired by TCS, even though the MCA was considered a poor cousin to a formal engineering degree those days. “I never had to apply for a job. The person who finally hired me said ‘you are the test case. If you do well in the college project, we will hire you and more MCAs," he said

Everyone should try to help one colleague in a way that helps them achieve a little bit more. It need not be work. It can be in any aspect of life. And part of it is that you have to be open to it. If somebody says, “Hey, I see you’re doing that, and I can give you a tip,” the person has to be open to hearing it and to want to hear it.

Running against time is an art that Chandrasekaran has practiced almost to perfection. Running marathons is evidence of that, but not the only one. “If it’s 5 am, I have to run unless, of course, I am on a flight,” he says, adding that he has to travel for at least 15 days a month.

Maybe companies will delay their investments in technologies for a while, but they will continue to invest in technology and into the digital space.

You just can’t micro-manage a company that has 238,000 staffers and operates in 90 countries. The power and agility of such a big company can be harnessed only when you have empowered people who can work under broad strategic directions.

One of Chandrasekaran's early influences was his father, who wanted him to document every rupee he spent. He learnt lessons in frugality, honesty and perseverance from his father. "Every time I wanted to do something, he would ask if I am committing myself for the long term or was it for the short term. He would say whenever you have to do a one-off thing; you don't have to think much. Long-term commitments have to be thought through," says Chandra.

Chandrasekaran's favourite painting is that of a meditating Buddha seated near an elephant. "I like the way the peaceful Buddha can influence that giant creature," Chandra, as he is popularly referred to, had said in an interview in 2014.

His advice to graduating college students is: "The first thing I tell them is that when they are in college, they often look for the best-paying job. There’s nothing wrong with that." "But in the first few years, you very quickly need to know what you want to achieve in your career, directionally. Otherwise, you can end up hopping around and making some money, but after that you’ll feel dissatisfied."