Hey there, Mr. Entrepreneur. Ms. Risk Taker. Mr. Mover and Shaker. You (and me) - with your hot-shot IT consultancy or Web 2.0 startup. Think you know what it’s like to scoff at the status quo? Take them risks? Push that bar?

Next time you start feeling like you’re cool, think on Narayana Murthy.

India is still a baby. A few years ago, you decided that you disagree with Mr. Nehru…communism won’t work for your country. So, you decide to follow the solid desi path: open an IT consultancy in India. Only catch: it’s 1981. The Internet? Right. Good luck finding a desktop computer within 50 miles of that run-down two bedroom apartment in the city.

“We were huddled together in a small room in Bombay,” says Murthy, “in the hope of creating a brighter future for ourselves, for the Indian society, and perhaps, we dreamed, even for the world.”

Idealistic for a tech guy. Remember, I mentioned that a few years earlier, he (like almost everyone at the time) believed in Nehru’s socialist vision for India.

“Remember one thing: All of us believed in central planning; all of us believed in socialism because we were all children of a different generation. We were all mesmerized by the charisma of Nehru. Nehru believed in central planning, Nehru believed in socialism. Nehru believed in the Soviet-influenced model of development. So it was not at all unusual for an idealistic man to be completely bowled over by these principles.”

After a lot of thinking, some life experience, and 24 hours in jail (for talking to a French girl on a train about a few of the ills of Communism), Murthy decided that global trade would be better for his country:

“Entrepreneurship, resulting in large-scale job creation, (is) the only viable mechanism for eradicating poverty in societies.” (note: he believes the European version of socialism works well.)

Call it outsourcing, or call it what it actually is…globalization, defined by Murthy:

“…sourcing capital from where it is cheapest, sourcing talent from where it is best available, producing where it is most cost effective and selling where the markets are without being constrained by national boundaries.”

A simple concept that eventually lead to Infosys - almost 30 years, more than 70,000 well-paying jobs, 2,000-plus dollar-millionaires, and 20,000-plus rupee millionaires. Oh right, and about taking jobs from Americans (or in this case, Australians):

“A smart journalist in Australia asked me a question at a press conference: ‘You guys are taking all our jobs to India. You should be thrown out.’ I told him that I use an LG refrigerator at home in India. I drink Pepsi and Coke though we have our own Indian drinks. I use a GM car when we have a vibrant automobile industry. I use Cisco routers and a Toshiba tablet PC which are imported. So do you think we should throw all these companies out? I gave him the positive side of all this.”

Thank you, Mr. Murthy.

A few more quotes -

On humility:
“Performance leads to recognition. Recognition brings respect. Respect enhances power. Humility and grace in one’s moments of power enhances (the) dignity of an organization.”

On innovation in India:
“It will happen. Let’s remember that the concept of a free market is still new in India. We are not accustomed to leading from the front. We have just 15 years compared to 200 years elsewhere in terms of an industrial revolution. You need to have a little more patience with India, but it will happen.”

On the sales bias:
“Many of my colleagues have often accused me of a bias towards sales in Infosys. I tell them, unless we can sell well we cannot do anything, such as create jobs, pay good salaries and satisfy investors. Right from the beginning we realized that we have to focus on selling better and better in the marketplace.”

On taking that chance:
“As I think across a wide variety of settings in my life, I am struck by the incredible role played by the interplay of chance events with intentional choices. While the turning points themselves are indeed often fortuitous, how we respond to them is anything but so. It is this very quality of how we respond systematically to chance events that is crucial.”

On valuing employees:
“Our assets walk out of the door each evening. We have to make sure that they come back the next morning.”

On contributing to society (he is currently chief ‘mentor’ at Infosys):
“I believe that we have all at some time eaten the fruit from trees that we did not plant. In the fullness of time, when it is our turn to give, it behooves us in turn to plant gardens that we may never eat the fruit of, which will largely benefit generations to come. I believe this is our sacred responsibility, one that I hope you will shoulder in time.”