Aditya Birla Group is a well-diversified organizational group which is into various business segments like non-ferrous metals (Hindalco), Cement (Ultratech), Textiles, Fashion products (Louis Philippe, Allen Solly, Van Heusen, Peter England, Pantaloons etc.), Financial Services and Telecom (Idea Cellular, now merged with Vodaphone).
By virtue of being into multitude of business segments, their influence can be felt in some or the other sphere of our lives. Starting with the construction of house which requires the inputs of cement for laying down a strong foundation for our future living and copper wires for insulation, Aditya Birla Group has had a role to play in that. Also, the food we eat, when it is grown in the farms, the use of fertilizers to ensure better harvesting of the crops has had a role to play in our healthy life. Their major influence has been through the fashion and retail segment business. It encompasses various established brands like Pantaloons and Peter England which I have resorted to for fulfilling my clothing needs and aspirations. Pantaloons has a plethora of options to choose from ranging from the economical to some of the expensive clothing and footwear.
In the financial services domain, it serves the needs of asset management, life insurance and non-banking financial services. Birla sun Life Insurance fulfills the need for safety and security by insuring our lives. Also, with the increasing number of investment options available, the asset management arm of Aditya Birla Group helps resolve some of the confusion hovering with respect to where to invest the hard-earned money. Now, with Idea merging with Vodaphone, the Birla Group is now having an influence into my social requirements of communicating and networking as well.
So overall it is catering to the hierarchy of needs that I have, ranging from the elementary physiological need, safety needs, affiliation needs to the self-actualization needs.
Through various CSR activities like rural development, education, sanitation etc., they are positively influencing the day to day lives of many of the unprivileged children and people. Eg: Through charitable hospitals run by the Aditya Birla Group, it is serving more than a million villagers.
Challenges are something that no one can escape from. They are a part and parcel of life. Its all about how you deal with those challenges, what attitude you possess rather than trying to run away from it.
I personally have faced numerous challenges in my personal, academic and professional life. There degrees have varied with time. Some have been extremely challenging while others have been moderately challenging. My strategy to overcome the challenges has been very plain and simple. Hard work has been at the core of what I do. Getting into one of the top colleges after my class 12th was an aspiration that I had. I knew the pathway had a lot of roadblocks, but one of the possible solutions was to put in my best effort as that was something within my control.
Focusing on things which are within my control has been the key. Not wasting time over trivial things and factors which I have no influence on has helped me strategize my energy into productive tasks. Apart from this, being positive and optimistic and believing in myself has helped eliminate the negativity surrounding any challenging task I face. This is very important because the mentality you have gets into the way to react and respond to situation.
Planning is the very first step in any management process. The same is the case with me. I plan for everything that I need to do. It provides a structure regarding how to go about doing a particular activity and be ready for some of the uncertainties that might come your way. Breaking down the set of activities into measurable outcomes has helped me understand how I am progressing towards the target that I have set for myself.
Being realistic with the goal setting has been very vital for my successful achievement of my targets. It is very important to get goals that can be achieved with the given set of resources and not being too over ambitious with regards to it. Taking the failures into my strides and moving ahead has been something that I have resorted to whenever the things did not go my way. There will always be situations wherein the outcomes don’t go your way. In those moments, its important not to get disheartened and keep the enthusiasm and optimism persisting in you.
Last but not the least having my priorities clearly set has helped me in identifying the importance of a task in the overall picture of making my ends meet. This is very crucial as in today’s world with plethora of alternatives available, it is important to understand what is important and what is not.