The summer placement week was a tiring and had become a never ending struggle. When I got selected for Group Management Cadre (GMC) internship program at Mahindra, I was happy and elated. This happiness was because I got into the company I had dreamed off, even before joining MBA at IIM Lucknow. One week has passed since my joining and I have realized that Mahindra is much more than what I had dreamt off.
The journey started off with an early morning flight from Lucknow to Mumbai, little was I aware about the financial hub of India. The busy streets of Mumbai were daunting but I was more excited as to what beholds at Mahindra Towers, Mahindra & Mahindra’s Worli office.
At the initial look, I was amazed at the architecture of Mahindra Towers. A red colossal building with an interesting layout, fountain (perfect laminar flow of overflowing water) and garden on the first floor. On entry into the Media Cube, we were welcomed with goodies and food!! Followed by introduction of other interns from reputed B-Schools across the country.
Over the next 3 days, we meet several senior leaders from across various sectors of Mahindra Group. Mr. Hemant Luthra – Chairman at Mahindra CIE and Dr. Prince Augustin – EVP Group Human Capital & Leadership Development at Mahindra & Mahindra were the two sessions which philosophy resonated the most with me and is something which I will always remember.
Mr. Hemant Luthra spoke about how business is different from the theoretical knowledge we learn in B-Schools. A journey of unlearning and relearning. It was similar to Modigliani Miller philosophy in the financial world. Relations, business strategy and motivation is more important than numbers we generate from applying various frameworks. On the other hand, Dr. Prince Augustin spoke about the Mahindra’s philosophy and an individual’s quest towards finding purpose in life. Mahindra Rise: “Accepting No Limits”, “Alternative Thinking” and “Driving Positive Change” these are a few of my core principals as well.
Another most memorable event was meeting Mr. Anand Mahindra in person. A very down to earth leader, open-minded personality and a great orator. We spoke about varied topics from upcoming elections, the qualities of a leader and a more abstract topic, purpose of life. This was the second day of the induction. It ended with a fellow intern’s birthday celebration at the Gateway Office, followed by a walk along the Marine Drive.
The next couple of induction days were planned to be different, more than just interaction with the leaders. We had a socialization session through board games, a novel technique to help the interns bond. The other session was a Design Thinking workshop conducted by Dr. Suranjan Das from SPJIMR. It was a very thought provoking session (inline with “Rise Philosophy” the Alternative Thinking) which gave us new ideas and approaches to our projects. A perfect way to conclude the induction process.
This induction process gave us a glimpse of what Mahindra could offer us. The next stage is for us to show what we can offer to Mahindra. With this we reported at our respected sectors to create a project charter and start working on our projects.