Since getting out of graduate school, Githesh Ramamurthy, currently the Chairman and CEOof CCC Information Systems Group [NASD:CCCG], a $460m market cap company in Chicago, has been starting up companies or heading them; selling off his start-ups successfully and turning around some that he has led. What makes this leader tick?

On His Beginnings
I was born in India but grew up in East Africa. The advantage of that is apparent now—when I watch Lion King, Ican explain the Swahili in it to my daughter [laughs]. Subsequently we moved to Papua New Guinea, from where Iwent to study at the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi. Even in those early days, I was amazed and drawn to the power of software, though Istudied electrical engineering. In 1982, I joined the graduate program in computer science at Georgia Tech. Half way through graduate school, I met up with three other friends from the McKinsey office and founded Sales Technologies. We designed the first architecture what became the world’s largest salesforce automation company in six years—from 4 people to over 700 worldwide in 13 countries. In early 1991, Dun &Bradstreet bought us out. Back in the eighties, we were automating companies with salesforce that ranged from 500 to over 2000. D&B put me through the Executive program at Harvard, when the startup bug bit again. Anyone who has honestly done a startup will tell you that startups are over-rated. At that time around, an opportunity at CCC came up, and Ijoined the company, simultaneously investing in it.

On His Leadership Experience
Founded in 1980, CCC Information Services Inc. supplies the automotive claims and collision repair industries with advanced software, communications systems, and Internet and wireless-enabled technology. Ijoined CCC, which was a $40m company in 1994, but what Isaw was a $100b problem in the market. There are 25 million auto accidents in the U.S. every year. The cost associated with auto insurance is astronimical. Icame on board at CCC as the CTO and we mapped the company vision for the next generation platform of products and services that we would offer. This took a couple of years, and in 1996, when we formally launched the vision, we went from being number three to the top. We have over a score products and a dozen applications for the market.

The role of the leader in any market is to understand the customers’ problems. If you ask a customer what he needs, you get a customer’s version of a solution. Whereas, if you don’t ask and opt to listen to his problem, you may find a solution. And finding this solution defines a successful business.

Once you understand your market, be bold. If you have really understood your customer problem, you can be confident about your strategy.

The choice of your management team is critical. You can attract tremendous talent, but you need to retain certain traits which will define your company.

On Hiring a Team
When you hire somebody, you have to identify the prospective recruit’s role in the previous company’s successes. If you aren’t rigorous about it, you may land up with flotsam.

The second trait you look for is integrity. Many companies have failed in this—admitting mistakes, giving credit to teams, watching out for others are all simple, but very critical traits in the process.

The team should be above the personal need. People should be comfortable being truthful with a team. There is no place for subversive motives.

On Motivating The Troops
We call it the “Sunday evening” syndrome. If you provide good vision, enough responsibilities and good challenges, people will think about what they want to do on Monday morning—on a Sunday evening. This has to come from your troops. And it will come only if you know what to do with all the talent you have hired.

When we hit a bump in the early 2001, we had to downsize and restructure the organization. We did it quickly. And cleanly. There were no remnant fears or unwarranted rumors within the company as we re-emerged from the bad patches. From then till now, the team has turned the company around.

We measure team spirit slightly differently. We go to our customers and measure how actively they are engaged with our company and team on a daily basis. It puts a slightly different slant on real life team culture.

On His Management Style
If you have a good team, have understood your customers, and have the guts to make bold strokes, your business becomes a dynamic entity. New markets are constantly opening up. In all this, top-down management cannot deliver an easy information flow across a company. You come to work everyday thinking how to obsolescence yourself [laughs].

On What Motivates Him
I see twenty things that could be done better. You need to work in a reverse role; constantly checking what else you can do to make your customer engagements better. There is one thing that has made me come to work everyday. Every new customer you bring into your company’s fold is a tremendous high. It cannot be done singly. And the thought of coming to work with a team that can go and possibly bring another new client is what motivates me.