As have worked in KPMG, one of the big four’s I have had not just one, but many days where I thought to myself if I’ll be able to finish my work within the deadline, but somehow always managed to. There was this time when I along with my team was working on an end to end audit which was to be completed in two weeks, a deadline for which all of us had to stretch till at least 1AM every day in order to finish the work in time, but then the unexpected happened after a week, our whole progress was lost due to some technical error, we had no backups of the files we were working on and the deadline could not be stretched further as the partner sign off was already finalised.
We all were shocked, terrified and confused as to how we will complete it, another day was almost wasted trying to recover the files. Then I thought to myself, we can still do this, I started planning as to how to proceed now and floated a mail in the office explaining the situation and asking for help across teams. We eventually managed to get help from other people but soon I realised dividing and managing the was no easy task.
This project became a challenge for me, as this was the first project I was working on as a senior team member, I was responsible for the completion and quality of the project. I worked till 3AM in the office for that week, reviewed and collaborated everything that my team mates worked on. I had to even work on my way back home and had working lunches but all of this paid off as I was able to successfully finish it before the deadline. I myself couldn’t believe we had done it, I thanked my team for their cooperation by taking them out on a team lunch the next day. My seniors were amazed to see the project completed and I was awarded as the ‘Rising Star’ in my office.
This episode had a very great impact on my life, I understood the potential of believing in yourself. That is when I realised one can do anything if he believes in himself and works for it.
How has ABG affected me and our society?
A company which started its operations in 1857 in a small village in Rajasthan, as a jute manufacturing unit is now among India’s premium business conglomerate. The group which was founded by Seth Shiv Narayan Birla has its footprints in 34 countries and is anchored by an extraordinary force of over 120,000 employees. The group in India leads in several sectors because of their vision, which is to clearly focus on each of the business in the conglomerate.
They believe in their people, ABG considers its employees to be its biggest assets, and thus incorporates high ethical standards which is why the company was named AON best employer in India in 2018.
The group is involved in a wide spectrum of industries, from fashion to food wrappers, telecommunications to online banking, cement industry to the chemical industry, fibres to carbon black, it is present everywhere and also impacted our lives in a big way. Considering the scale of the group ABG has surely impacted every Indian in one way or the other and that includes me . This reminds me of my recent visit to the mall right before the commencement of my MBA interviews, to buy formals as they are an integral part of the journey. I was confused between brands like brands like Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England, but guess what, all of them are a part of this group. The group not only provides fashion solutions but caters to the needs of various sections of the society, from budget line to their premium fashion brands.
My first and my current sim is a Vodafone Idea Limited sim and it’s hard to not recall my first conference call through it. I am proud to be associated with Vodafone Idea Limited as it is currently the leading telecom service provider in India and second largest in the world.
Not just that, a few months back when my house was getting renovated the only name everyone had on their mouth’s was either Ultratech cement or Birla putty which I’m sure has something special in it as it was always the only brand my contractor told me to get. From the foundation of my home to the clothes inside my wardrobe to my endless conversations with my friends, my whole life can be traced around the memories that ABG has given me with. This is how BIG group is for me.
