Why Infosys’ Narayana Murthy wants to be remembered ‘not as a good man but…’

Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy wants to be remembered as a fair man. "One of the things I learnt early as a leader is that you have to take tough, unpleasant decisions. However, the most important thing is to be fair in every transaction," Murthy told ET in a recent interview.
In 1981, NR Narayana Murthy established Infosys in Pune, bringing together six individuals who later become co-founders, including Nandan Nilekani, the current chairman of Infosys, and Senapathy 'Kris' Gopalakrishnan, who served as the company's vice-chairman for three years until 2014 and as CEO from 2007 to 2011.These individuals are now well-known figures in the fields of entrepreneurship and philanthropy.
When asked how he wished to be remembered, Infosys founder Narayana Murthy had once expressed his desire to be known "not as a good man but as a fair man."
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Infosys is recognized for its high standards of governance and is considered one of India's first professionally managed companies, standing out in a landscape dominated by family-run businesses, the ET report said.
In 1994, Narayana Murthy introduced an "open evaluation" system at Infosys, allowing team members to assess their evaluators.
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During the dot-com bust around 2001, Murthy recounted the company's decision to honor 1,500 job offers made to young individuals, even as competitors across the industry postponed such hirings by a year.
"We all sat and discussed. It is not the fault of youngsters. How will those kids who went to college for four years, sit at home? We said the top people on our board will take the highest cut in salaries, and the next level slightly lower, but we will make sure those people are absorbed. We were the only company (Infosys) which did that in 2001. That message went to so many youngsters," the tech veteran said, emphasizing that this action reinforced the perception of Infosys as a fair organization.