A US $44.3 billion corporation, the Aditya Birla Group is in the League of Fortune 500. It is spread across 35 countries with more than 120,000 employees worldwide. The group is not only about money, but it also set high standards for its Corporate Social Responsibility (C.S.R.) by contributing to the social and economic aspects of the economically challenged sections of the society.
ABG, long has been and still happens to, connect with me and my family in ways more than 1. Frewshwrapp aluminium Foil of ABG has ensured that my food is served hot and fresh.
ABG is the largest-selling and most iconic men’s fashion brands in India - Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England. Being a management student, I am well versed with the importance of formal attire.
An Aditya Birla Group & Vodafone Group partnership is India’s leading telecom service provider with a subscriber base of over 408 million. It ensures that we have seamless communication with our family, colleagues, and friends. Over 340,000 broadband sites covering 840 million Indians ensures that we get uninterrupted internet connection which I believe is now one of the most essential requirements.
ABG with its major brands (UltraTech Cement, UltraTech Concrete and Birla White) is the largest producer of grey cement, white cement and ready-mix concrete in India. 0.1 million MT of UltraTech went into the construction of the iconic Bandra-Worli sea link.
ABG’s CSR initiatives in healthcare, education, infrastructure and its actions in making model villages i.e. transforming the underprivileged villages with sustainable developments is indeed a stepping stone towards a better society and country.
This is how the Aditya Birla Group is big in my life.
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How I overcame challenges in my life ?
After my class II examinations in Christ School-Nowshera, my parents were transferred to Govt. Hospital, District Doda, J&K. In my new school, the mode of teaching was Hindi + Urdu. The Urdu language was alien to me, and I barely managed to cross the passing mark in the mid-term examinations. After my class V, we moved to our hometown, Jammu. Fellow classmates in the new school would not interact with me as I couldn’t “communicate” in English. I still remember an English class when I became an object of humiliating ridicule for the reason that I had translated words in English to Hindi as a part of the subject’s take-home assignment. The struggle continued and so did the ridicule.
After the completion of my B. Tech degree, I joined a Fortune 500 Maharatna OMC. After a couple of months of on-the-field training, I was transferred to its lubricant business unit. I was posted at Amritsar and was looking after B2C channel sales management. I saw some early success as I received several promising leads and successfully got a few new customers under contract. Still, after endless rounds of negotiation, I struggled to close a substantial amount of deals. Simultaneously, I was supposed to organize a product launch for select retailers and mechanics with a city-based profile, but even after working hard, I couldn’t get enough commitments. The launch was not a success.
The streak of struggles in my past is a hard-earned relic for me: an indisputable proof that I possess both the courage to try and the resilience to persevere. I view these failures as guiding lights. I find utility in them. And it is because of these failures that I am ready. In Doda, I was fortunate enough to have the guidance and tutelage of Mr. Anjum Mir who would painstakingly teach me how to read and write Urdu, daily an hour before school timings. Our combined and honest hard work bore fruit and I topped class V. I was blessed to have Ms. Singh as my English language teacher in Jammu. Under her mentorship, I strived and honestly persevered with the English language. Owing to months of painstaking and collective hard-work, I topped my Class VII and continued to do so right up to class XII with the only exception of Class X. Working on my line-manager’s positive interventions, I became well studied and experienced in my job role. I managed over 90 business partners in a sales and marketing environment and earned the trust and commitment of people 30 years older than me.
I learned from my failures to be a better manager and communicator. I have a passion for empowering others. I believe in investing in the group I interact with. From jobs as trivial as managing one’s e-mail inbox to as important as choosing a new four-wheeler, my business partners have consulted me numerous times and I feel proud to have fostered such a trustworthy relationship which went beyond the routine transactional discussions. I love the satisfaction of a job well done and empowering someone to do their job well.
I, with the active participation of my support structure, didn’t limit myself to the barrier of an alien language. I drove positive change in the core business and outlook of my channel partners by helping them in recruiting, motivating and retaining their sales representatives who delivered sustainable performance and provided appropriate field support. I proved to my line-manager and the organization that I’m capable of alternate thinking when I created a ‘blue-ocean’ by successfully conceptualizing and launching new industrial products.
My current self is the culmination of the results I have achieved despite facing difficult times. And at each time of asking, I have dared to disturb the universe. And, I will continue doing the same.
