Nooyi - Choose Your Success

Good evening, everyone. Thank you, Chairman Balakrishnan, Director Chattopadhyay and all the deans and chairpersons of academic programmes, for welcoming me. It is great to be back at IIM Calcutta.

Graduates, proud families and loved ones, thank you so much for inviting me here to speak to you today, and congratulations on this extraordinary achievement.

As I was thinking about what I would say to you as you conclude your business education, I was reminded of an old story about a fresh MBA graduate and his father who went on a camping trip together. After hiking all day, the two men arrived at their campsite, set up a tent and fell asleep.

Some hours later, the older man woke his son. Look up at the sky, he said, and tell me what you see.

His son replied, I see millions of stars.

What does that tell you? his father asked.

The MBA graduate, remembering his education, pondered for a minute.

Astronomically speaking, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.

He then turned to his father. Dad, what does it tell you?

The father was silent for a moment, and then said, I think someone stole our tent.

I love this story for two reasons. First, it demonstrates that an MBA degree transforms the way you view the world. The degree you are receiving today illuminates new approaches to every situation. Second, as the father reminds us, you also need to see details as well as the big picture. You cant overlook what is right in front of you.

And today, right in front of me, is a truly amazing view.

Graduates, I can see the excitement on all of your faces. I can practically hear your hearts beating with anticipation. You are about to take the next big step in your lives. Most of you are headed for your first real, well-paying jobs and, for the first time in your lives, you are not going to be dependent on anyone. Its an exciting moment, and I realize at this point I am just about all thats standing in your way!

Behind you, I can see your family and loved ones. They are glowing with pride today. They are sitting there thinking, It was all worth it.

Well, let me tell you, every night they spent worrying about you, and every penny they saved for your education was worth it. You have exceeded their every expectation. Take it from a mother of twothere is no better feeling than the one you get watching someone you love realize their dreams.

Of course, they are hoping you will still make time for them in your busy schedules, that you will care for them in their old age, that you will use your newfound economic freedom wiselyto help them pay off debts, or hospital bills, or maybe even put some money away for your sisters wedding.

Seated around you, I see your professors and the wonderful staff of IIM Calcutta. They do this every year, but for them, it never gets old. They have invested so much in each of you. They are hoping you will go out and use your education to make a difference in society. They are counting on you to bring honour to this institution, and to make our country and our world a better place.

From where I stand, I can feel it allthe excitement, the anticipation, the pride, the hope.

There are few constants in our world; this is one of them. This is what every convocation speaker sees. And Im sure its what the speaker at my IIM Calcutta convocation in 1976 saw, too.

Its hard to believe that you are the fiftieth batch to graduate from IIM Calcutta. I was in the eleventh. And thinking back to my own graduation from IIM Calcutta, I can say with confidence that life here has undoubtedly changed for the better.

We didnt have the auditorium back thenour convocation was outdoors in a tiny tent on the lawn. It was not nearly as festive or as well-attended as todays ceremony.

In fact, in every way, your time here at IIM Calcutta and the world you are about to enter into is more advanced, more diverse and more global than mine was in 1976.

My batch was the first to graduate from the Joka campus. I spent my first year at the old BT Road campus, which was just an old building in the middle of Naxalite territorynot the safest area.

And when we moved to Joka, the land from here to Diamond Harbour was all empty farmlands. TKPK was actually the last town.

My batch was around a hundred students, and I was one of only five women in my class and just twelve in the whole school. They couldnt take more because there were only so many dorm rooms built for women. We talk about glass ceilings today, but back then, women were still limited by the number of walls.

And when it comes to resources, there is no comparison. If we got our hands on a two-year-old Harvard Business Review, we thought we had died and gone to heaven.