Strive for speed and excellence in execution, ad community told

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, JAN. 20. Honing project management skills, embracing speed and acquiring excellence in execution are the sine qua non for the advertising community to fight the challenges facing them in the emerging ICE (information, communication and entertainment) world, declared the Chairman and CEO of Infosys Technologies, Mr. N.R. Narayanamurthy.

Addressing a special valedictory function, got up at the conclusion of the two-day `Future Shock'', the advertising convention here today, Mr. Narayanamurthy regretted that more often than not the utility of project management as an important tool in the Internet age was missed by many. On time delivery of products, he felt, should be the key concern of the advertising fraternity.``Speed, imagination and excellence in execution will continue to be time invariant and context invariant attributes for you people,'' he said. ``If you want to be sustainable and successful operations in the long-term, you have to embrace these things,'' he added.

Mr. Narayanamurthy exhorted the advertising community to constantly strive to enhance `the speed of what you are doing today.' ``How do you take less time tomorrow compared to today?'' That was the key question that the advertising fraternity had to address in the emerging context. He was convinced that imagination and creativity had to be organic and used in every function that contributed to the creation of `fantastic' ads. The Infosys Chairman laid much store by excellence in execution - not only in ideas but also in other areas such as reducing cost, infusing technology and improving communication.

``Accountability and adherence to highest principles of governance is extremely important,'' he said. With the advertising community providing the corporates the vital link with the ultimate consumers, corporate governance was essential to have the right type of communication with customers, he said.

Mr. Narayanamurthy made it clear that corporates had to come to terms with the fact that elders would have to give way to youngsters.

``How does a firm jettison its past in a nice way?'' This question would have to be answered in his view. Where youth would prevail over elders, corporates would have to willy nilly create opportunities for youngsters, he said.

The Infosys chief called upon the traditional media companies and public relation agencies to `reinvent themselves' if they were to stay afloat in the new environment.

``Unless they add value to whatever they do, it is unlikely that they will survive,'' he warned.

Stating that ``competition is here to stay,'' Mr. Narayanamurthy reminded the audience that henceforth performance alone ``will make you better'' and not patronage.

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