Aditya Birla Group is one of India’s largest conglomerates which started from a small village in Rajasthan and went on to become a global business empire. Aditya Birla had the long term vision and was the first person to put India on a global map. Although this huge group is highly diversified and deals in cement, aluminum, chemicals, telecom, financial services etc., its largest impact on me was its remarkable journey in the Fashion retail sector. Madura garments was India’s first company to focus on fashion and retail and changed the entire fashion landscape in India.. When I was growing up, I had seen my father wearing “Peter England” shirts only on special occasions. That is the kind of aspirational brand created by ABG. The launch of “Louis Phillippe”, one of the finest menswear was a bold step whose success led to the launch of other work wear brand “Van Heusen”. Smart casuals were introduced in the form of launch of “Allen Solly”. Such kind of dressing was earlier available only to the people who had the privilege to shop in a foreign land. But with the further expansion of these brands and acquisition of Pantaloons from the future group, Aditya Birla has become a household name. Pantaloons was the first retailer to open its outlet in my area, Zirakpur, while it was still developing. The kind of fashion and smart work wear available in ABG outlets builds my confidence and makes me believe that nothing is unachievable in life.
Life becomes enriching not because of the achievements but because of the learning that you get from your failures. The major ingredient to overcome all the challenges is life is “perseverance”. One needs to stay calm and enjoy the journey when things are not moving as per expectations. Whenever I have faced such a situation in life, I have always bifurcated my problems and areas of concern into the sphere of influence and control. We can never change something which is out of our influence. But, there are many things which fall under our control and should be our focus areas in life. Being a high achiever in academics, my world went down when I faced a medical condition and could not write my exams in 12th with my right hand. Just one month left to give the exams, I had full confidence in my knowledge and the hard work that I had put in the last one year. Hence, I decided to start practicing with my left hand and improved my handwriting so that I could clear my exams without wasting a year. Needless to mention, I am ambidextrous now. Another time was when I joined a company after graduation which within a short span of time was acquired by some other company and around 50 people were getting laid off every week due to the business requirements. At that moment, I upgraded my skills in a very short span of time to meet the company’s standards and provided new solutions for my project to enhance the team’s efficiency. Being awarded “Rising Star” award at such a time boosted my confidence. Maintaining calm during these uncertain times, building new skills and focusing on my performance helped me to sail through and emerge victorious at the end. I believe that it’s not only aptitude but the attitude that decides our altitude in life. Optimism always wins. #ABGPL #ABGWOOME #XIMB
