It all started in the small town of Pilani, Rajasthan when Seth Shiv Narayan Birla took the decision to venture out of Rajasthan to make a name for himself. That was the decision which has spiraled out to the creation of one of the most successful business houses in the world, The Aditya Birla Group. We can’t help but notice the impact which this business house has created in the lives of people, directly or indirectly. Us, being the fortunate ones, always had access to the televisions, on which we often saw the TV commercial of Ultra tech cement, Orient Electrics, Century textiles, all of them are market leaders in their respective fields and I am sure that we prefer these brands when the need strikes. We shop in malls and prefer retail outlets such as Pantaloons, an obvious choice as suggested by their sales rate of one item in every 3 seconds. As millennial's, we prefer to buy premium products at ordinary prices, which is where brands like Allen Solly, Peter England & Louis Philippe comes in. All These Brands are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the offerings of The Aditya Birla Group.
They are touching lives of millions, globally. They have their business roots in almost every continent and providing jobs at a global level. In New Brunswick, Canada the Birla Group is the highest employer of the region. It is the world’s biggest manufacturer of the carbon black, a material used in manufacturing of tires and ink. In Sweden, the group owns a bio-refinery factory. In Indonesia, they are involved in limestone exploration activities. The group is even planning to invest $ 6 billions in bauxite mining and refinery projects in Cameroon, Africa.
They are not just touching people’s lives but are also striving to make a difference in them. They are currently running around 20 hospitals in India through which they conduct 5000+ free medical camps every year in rural India. They are currently running 50+ schools and providing free education to around twenty thousand plus children.
So yes, its truly hard to ignore the impact that they are having not only in such a diverse country like India but around the world.
So, what do we learn from this little glimpse into the wide portfolio of this big business house? One this is obvious, they are a bunch of highly motivated and value driven people.
These are the people driven by change and change happens in the presence of challenges as they help us bring out best in ourselves.
A person faces a lot of challenges, day in and day out in a life which has become so dynamic that the only way to be of value to the society is to learn and adapt. The challenge that everyone faces in life is that of self-discovery. Sometimes, we are unable to choose what we actually want just because our want is against the popular opinion, that is where we loose ourselves in the crowd, that is where we become one among many, that is where we start to slip up on our dreams and ambitions and when all such things happens we start settling for “good” when we could have achieved “glorious”. We all had moments in our life when things did not go our way, where nothing seems right and in that phase of our life, there was an opportunity, an opportunity to come out on top of it all and to grab that opportunity we should be positive about what we are doing and why we are doing what we are doing and the other thing that all of us should be doing is that trying to see our efforts through, this helps us as it brings a rush of excitement and joy for the outcome that our efforts are going to achieve for us.
Being a student, I have observed that you must face a lot of competition if you want the best in your field, and pursuing MBA, one of the most popular courses in the country ensures that you are always on your toes. There were times when I was preparing for the CAT exam when nothing seems to be going right, I got stuck in the simplest of questions. That was the time my perseverance and self-belief was tested but because of my friends and family I got through that phase and it was with their help that I saw my efforts through.
So, it is important to have faith in yourself when you are faced with a challenge, but it is equally important to surround yourself with people who truly believe in you, not just for flattery but genuinely. A true believer would often question your judgement, would pick out flaws in you, but in the end, they would want you to succeed.
So, coming back to Aditya Birla group, they have had success along the way facing a lot of adversaries and challenges along with a lot of critical thinking involved, but it was all worth it because it was because of these situations they are what they are today, an inspiration to millions.