Wipro

In an industry where a US$ 1 million contract was considered a very ‘big deal’, the telecom business of Wipro Technologies garnered a US$ 70 million project. While most companies in the Indian software industry were content with merely talking of moving up the value chain with respect to their service offerings, Wipro Technologies’ telecom business led by T.K. Kurien did exactly that.

The key differentiator lies in Kurien’s ability to shift reference points in the minds of his team. Prior to the US$ 70 million order, a US$ 1 million contract was considered a big deal; Kurien told his team that US$ 1 million would be the minimum amount for which they would undertake an assignment. This led to his sales team going after big-ticket contracts, which, in turn, led to the US$ 70 million order.

In response to a tender floated by an international client for a high-end software service provider, Wipro took on the Big 5 in the telecom consulting business and won the tender based on its credentials, rather than price. That it had little or no experience in dealing with such large-scale projects was hardly a deterrent in Wipro pitching for the project. What mattered ultimately were the values of trust, integrity and honesty that Wipro demonstrated through out the tendering process.