Consider this extract from the chairman’s letter in the Infosys annual report, describing the company’s Global Delivery Model, these days featuring strategic consulting: “By making the Global Delivery Model both legitimate and mainstream, we have brought the battle to our territory. That, after all, is the purpose of strategy. We have become the leaders and the incumbents [IBM, Accenture, etc.—TP] are followers, forever playing catch up. Every company now needs to articulate an India strategy. … However, creating a new business innovation is not enough for rules to be changed. The innovation must impact clients, competitors, investors and society. We have seen all that in spades. Clients have embraced the model and are demanding it in even greater measure. The acuteness of their own circumstance, coupled with the capability and value of our solution, has made the choice not a choice. Competitors have been dragged kicking and screaming to replicate what we do. They face trauma and disruption, but the game has changed forever. Investors have grasped that this is not a passing fancy, but a potential restructuring of the way the world operates and how value will be created in future. …”
Brash? Absolutely! But oh so much better than 100 … or 1,000 … corporate value statements that begin, “We aim to create value for our stakeholders …” Infosys does aim to enrich its stakeholders, but to do so not by pocketing the leavings from a few efficiency improvements, rather from Changing the World! Amen … for the audacity. (Hint: I’d not bet against them! See you in Bangalore!)