Convocation Address of Padmashree Lila Poonawalla; Chief Guest for the 8^th Convocation of EDI's Post Graduate Programmes held on 29^th September 2006.

To ensure that you do not get outdated, you have to keep renewing yourself. This prepares you to anticipate change and be ready for it when it comes. Constantly ask yourself what new skills and competencies will be needed. Begin working on them before they become necessary and you will have a natural advantage. The greatest benefit of your education lies not only in what you have learnt, but also in working how to learn. You have to constantly learn about people and how to interact effectively with then. In the world of tomorrow, only those individuals and organizations will succeed who have mastered the art of rapid and on-going learning.

You will want to upgrade yourself only if you respect yourself. The world will reward you on your successes. Success requires no explanation and failure permit none. But you need to respect yourself enough so that your self-confidence remains intact whether you succeed or fail. If you succeed 90 per cent of the time, you are doing fine. If you are succeeding all the time, you should ask yourself if you are taking enough risks. If you do not take enough risks, you may also be losing out on many opportunities. Think through but take the plunge. If some things go wrong, learn from them and move on.

Here I would like to take a pause and read out to you some important messages of a few successful entrepreneurs that you certainly have heard of and perhaps can relate to.

Mukesh Ambani – Think big. Challenge conventional wisdom. Work towards long term objectives and aim for the best. Demand excellence. Do not fear change or the unknown. Work hard and never accept defeat.

Kumarmanglam Birla – Vision and ebullience, perseverance, commitment, tenacity and a bias for action. You also need attitude and above all, passion.

Azim Premji – Think big. Never compromise on fundamental values. Look ahead, be self-confident and have the best around you. Be committed to quality and play to win.

Narayan Murthy – Speed and imagination. Global business skills. Also aspirations, patriotism, excellence in execution and communication skills.

Kiran Mazumdar – Successful entrepreneurship has three essential components: a sense of purpose, the spirit of challenge, and a deep commitment to discover and be excited about discoveries. Every effort has to be that of a team. About sharing a vision with the team and getting them excited. But despite success, humility and integrity must never leave an entrepreneur.

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