YOUNG AND WISE

B-schools arm future managers with the experience of those who walked before them

- KARTHIK RAVINDRANATH

The capability maturity model is a method used to refine the software development process. It has five levels. In 1999, Infosys became the first Indian company to be certified for the highest level. It could have been projected as a competitive advantage. But, Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy shared the company’s experience of the certification process with his Indian competitors.

What a nice man, you must be thinking. But, did he not give up his advantage by doing so? The short answer is, no. “Letting other Indian companies excel led western companies to pay attention to India and helped increase the overall Indian market share, including that of Infosys,” said Sathya Pramod, founder, KayEss Square Consulting and former CFO, Tally Solutions. Murthy did what leaders do. He saw the bigger picture and acted with wisdom.

Can such wisdom be taught? After all, Murthy, one of the most admired global business leaders of our times, did not have an MBA. Moreover, by definition, it should not be possible to teach wisdom. Yet, that is essentially what b-schools attempt to do. “Smart is a person who learns from experience, but wise is a person who learns from others’ experience,” said Dheeraj Sharma, director, IIM Rohtak. “For tomorrow’s managers, their own experience is important, but the experiences of those who led before them are also important.”