Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has shared a childhood lesson that shaped his approach to problem-solving and his sense of responsibility towards India’s rural economy .
In a post on X, Vembu recalled how, as a child, he would help friends who struggled with mathematics. He then shared a principle he was taught from childhood: “When you see something broken, take the responsibility to fix it, do not merely complain. Vembu added that if something could not immediately be fixed, he would accept the situation but make a mental note to return to it when he had the ability to do so. Reacting to the post, one user wrote, “That is the whole lesson. Teach, and you learn. Fix, and you grow. Rural India does not need more commentary. It needs people who appoint themselves, and then stay. “Self help and extending that to social help taking self responsibility cannot be taught it has to come spontaneously which most Indian mothers have. More so, in rural surroundings, they believe in mutual help and reciprocation in that often proactive volunteering comes to play,” commented another. “That is possible when you think the village and the country as yous, with a sense of belonging. But when identity takes over all others it is just not possible,” wrote a third user. “Good to know. But hard to practice when other people are involved. Many don’t want our knowledge/experience. We might have made mistakes and teaching them not to make them.
He said that teaching them also helped him understand the subject better. “Over the years, that becomes second nature,” he wrote, adding that he now considers it his “personal responsibility to figure out solutions for our rural economy. “No one appointed me to that role, and I have appointed myself happily,” Vembu said. (Also Read: ‘Gen Z is not what people think’: Sridhar Vembu shares 19-year-old employee’s inspiring story ) The post prompted several users to reflect on teaching, self-help, social responsibility and contributing to rural India. People construe it as ‘a know it all’ and ignore,” said another. “That’s is what is responsibility of every one sir who left villages to learn and earn at some point in life when they have enough it’s time to get back to roots and make next generation ready to build something there only,” expressed one user.
