The saying is no longer- “Jack of all trades, Master of none”. The world of business conglomerates has evolved over the years to prove just the same. Aditya Birla Group started way back in the 19th century when India was a colony of the British. Over the years it has expanded to be in the league of Fortune 500. The principles of the founding father, Mr. Ghanshyam Das Birla who played a major role in India’s struggle for independence as well, was imbibed by Mr. Aditya Vikram Birla who has sharpened this conglomerate to its current brilliance. From transforming the industries of fashion, chemicals, cement, metals, fertilizers to bridging the paper-dependent world to its digital counterpart by the creation of payment banks, ABG has grown into one of the most successful business conglomerates in the world with its footprint in almost every sector. One of the most mundane ways how ABG has transformed my life and perhaps many others is with the aid of UltraTech Cement which was used in the construction of my family house in 2007. It was during this time that I was first introduced to the huge world of ABG. Since then, it has gradually occupied several places in my life in the form of the Freshwrapp foil used to keep my lunch warm to Allen Solly being the first set of formals that I had ever bought to the formals I have worn for my Bschool orientation week, a Louis Philippe shirt being the first present bought for my father with my own salary, and Pantaloons being my go-to place for a diverse range of shopping.  Its vision for sustainability along with its community initiatives for tailor-made rural development in India has been in alignment with the vision of the global leaders for providing a platform for the transfer of best practices in the global environment. Its vision, mission, values and “think big” ideology has intertwined this conglomerate into an integral part of our lives, making it not only a household name but also, one of the top ranking conglomerates in the world.

A fight with myself!

At one point or the other in our lives, we come face to face with challenges in life which pushes us to the edge, to the point where we feel this is the worst thing ever possible. As human beings, we aspire for big things in our lives. We wish to reach the summit of our ambitions. I was born and brought up in a remote town with not many opportunities, and I have learned to perform well under all circumstances. For me, my dream was to serve my country by joining the defense forces. I was selected twice for the Service Selection Board for the Indian Air Force. I had already failed once, hence, when I got the second call, I was working in the Information Technology sector which I decided to quit to give my best shot at the last SSB that I was eligible for. However, life has its own ways of playing with us, and it hardly happens that circumstances turn the way we want them to. I found myself out of the SSB process and with that my dream to reach for the skies remained unfulfilled. Having quit my previous job, I found myself in a clueless state after facing this failure and thereon went a year-long struggle to find out where I wanted to be. During this period, I gave several central government examinations aimlessly but I did not find contentment anywhere. Instead, I found myself in a maze of constant disappointment. But, as it has been rightly said, “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” So, with the help of constant support from my family and friends and an enormous effort from myself, I was finally able to get myself together and decided to go for higher studies so as to evolve and grow as a global leader. It was only when I decided that I could no longer live aimlessly that I got clarity on what I wanted and that was when I succeeded. And here I am, today, a student of the postgraduate programme in management in the Indian Institute of Management, Trichy. The “Power of 5”- integrity, commitment, passion, seamlessness, and speed is the common rope that has intertwined my life’s goal-mantra with that of the vision of ABG. I have learned through experience the importance and necessity of the above values in our lives. Even though there will always be major setbacks in life, we can always rely on the "Power of 5" vision of ABG and we can always decide to get up. Think ABG, Think Big!