"Leaders with principles are less likely to get bullied or pushed around because they can draw clear lines in the sand. . .The softest pillow is a clear conscience."

In his youth Murthy was influenced by the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi was involved with socialist youth organizations. He became a strong believer in the redistribution of wealth as a method of alleviating India's massive poverty.

After Murthy's graduation from his university, his professor nominated him to go to Paris to install a logistics and baggage-handling system at Charles de Gaulle Airport. Murthy was fascinated by the intellectuals he met at Parisian cafés in the late 1960s. Describing his time there, he said, "As a twenty-three-year-old Indian, I grew up on a heavy diet of Nehru's socialist philosophy. In Paris I got the inspiration for compassionate capitalism. I learned how French people put the interest of community ahead of their own interest."

In the process, Murthy imbibed an atmosphere of action and inquiry that gave rise to four guiding principles. First, the only way to remove poverty is to create new jobs and more wealth. Second, there are only a few people who can lead the creation of these enterprises and create jobs and wealth. Third, these people need incentives to create wealth in a fair manner. And, finally, it is not the responsibility of the government to create jobs or wealth; the government's task is to create an environment where a fair incentive system encourages people to create more jobs and more wealth.