To write about a few thoughts about MDI after taking a break from finishing assignments, discussing group case studies, interacting with industry leaders and playing football, today, I realized that I have been at MDI for just over a month now. If I simply count the number of activities I have undertaken during these 30 days at MDI, it would seem like a year had passed! My first month at the MDI has been a great opportunity to holistically reflect on management practices with each passing day giving me a rich and memorable experience. More importantly, it’s also a journey of self-awareness - having the chance to reflect and to understand not just my own strengths and how I can best flex my leadership style in different groups, but also where my weaknesses are and how I can work with others who have complementary strengths.
At MDI, no two days look or feel the same. That makes it extremely difficult to outline what my average weekday or weekend looks like, but one particular day really stands out from the rest. It all started when we entered the Managerial Communication class, where, to our surprise, we saw a video recorder capturing the podium of the class and we had no idea what would come next. Our professor entered the room and asked us to give extempore on the topic:
“Share an experience in your life where you did something different and gained a lot of value and experience out of it”, which would be recorded on camera. And, once our presentations were over, all of us would be watching our video-recordings. When I looked around the classroom, everyone was perplexed at the thought of public speaking, especially when the camera would be glaring down at them. Our professor was smiling, perhaps because she knew that even though students were scared, they would surely outdo each other. My classmates talked about a range of things from learning how to swim to overcoming their stage-fright, to quitting bad habits such as smoking. Each 1.5-minute impromptu speech was incredibly insightful and I felt connected with each student on the podium.
I talked about my time in New York where I had done part of my elementary schooling. This experience was at the time of 9/11 and how I was deeply affected by the events that took place. I shared with my classmates how I felt during a time when every colored person was viewed suspiciously. This led to me becoming withdrawn and unwilling to take part in activities. But soon I realized at that young age that I must step out of my comfort zone and be proud of who I am and how I look. Forgoing my inhibitions, during our school’s annual cultural fest, I sang the Indian National Anthem on stage. From that day onwards, I have never looked back and not let anything bring me down.
After everything was said and done, I truly believe that there could not have been a better way to get to know our classmates so intimately as here they shared their innermost thoughts without hesitation. This also helped me realize that if I were a part of the esteemed Aditya Birla Group, I would be working in Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Ltd and ABOF. This is because I have always been keen on understanding how people think, comprehend and decide. Fashion marketing and management is an area that requires one to dive deeply into the minds of people and regions. I believe that my passion for marketing and having an ear for listening to people and understanding their behaviour makes me a good fit for Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited.
Har Ras Singh (18P019)