Adam Bryant conducts interviews of senior-level executives that appear in his “Corner Office” column each week in the SundayBusiness section of The New York Times. Here are a few insights provided during an interview of Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chief executive of Tata Consultancy Services, who is known as Chandra. “My father would say that you need to know the value of everything you get — value of money, and value of time. So he made us account for things.”

To read the complete interview as well as Bryant’s interviews of other executives, and obtain subscription information, please click here.

Photo credit: Josh Haner/The New York Times

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Where did you grow up?

I was born and raised in a small village in Southern India. My family had a farm, about 15 acres, and we grew bananas, rice and some sugar cane. I had some leadership roles in school — I was leader of the class and captain of the badminton team.

Tell me about your parents. How have they influenced you?

My father was a lawyer by training, but when my grandfather died, he had to give that up to manage the family farm. We were a family of six kids, and his one big goal was to give us a very solid education, and his values were purpose, honesty and determination.

My mother is probably one of the hardest-working people I’ve ever met. Her routine used to start at 4 in the morning, and end at 10 in the evening. She raised us, and supported us in everything we did. That kindled aspirations in all of us.

Were there certain expressions your parents would repeat often to you?

My father would say that you need to know the value of everything you get — value of money, and value of time. So he made us account for things. It wasn’t that there was a right or wrong way, but he wanted us to be accountable for what we did.

Over time, it became a habit. One of my key strengths is that I’m very reflective. You learn so much better by taking that time.

When you went to college, did you have an idea of what you wanted to do for a career?

My father wanted one of us to come back and work with him on the farm and eventually take over. My older brothers went on to professional jobs, and he suggested that I come back to the farm after college. I did a science degree and then went back.

After five months, I started feeling miserable, he started feeling bad and then we had a chat. We agreed that I would go back to school for a master’s degree in computers. My first job was at TCS, when the company had about 500 employees. I’ve been here since 1987. We now have 315,000 employees.

What are some of your leadership approaches?

Every company likes to say it’s a learning organization. But it’s never easy to achieve, and it’s not just classroom learning. In our executive team meetings, we share experiences and case studies about failures and successes. Learning cannot be achieved by mandate. It has to be achieved by culture.

Another thing I say is that everyone should try to help one colleague in a way that helps them achieve a little bit more. It need not be work. It can be in any aspect of life. And part of it is that you have to be open to it. If somebody says, “Hey, I see you’re doing that, and I can give you a tip,” the person has to be open to hearing it and to want to hear it.

I’ve been pushing that message for five years, every day. Everybody has to take some accountability for other people, and look for ways to make small contributions to help others. Looking after people has to become everybody’s responsibility. Innovation and caring for people are cultures; they are not departments. It takes time to build that culture.

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Adam Bryant, deputy national editor of The New York Times, oversees coverage of education issues, military affairs, law, and works with reporters in many of the Times’ domestic bureaus. He also conducts interviews with CEOs and other leaders for Corner Office, a weekly feature in the SundayBusiness section and on nytimes.com that he started in March 2009. In his book, The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed, (Times Books), he analyzes the broader lessons that emerge from his interviews with more than 70 leaders. To read an excerpt, please click here.

His more recent book, Quick and Nimble: Lessons from Leading CEOs on How to Create a Culture of Innovation, was also also published by Times Books (January 2014). To contact him, please click here.