The Idols who changed my Life | Siddhant Khajanchi | NMIMS, Mumbai

Why Aditya Birla Group is big in your life?

Amongst around 130 crore citizens of India, only thousands make it to the millionaire's club. Of those thousands, only hundreds reach and are able to sustain their position at the billion-dollar mark. Of those hundreds there only a handful of Indians who have successfully made their entry in the top 100 'Richest' entrepreneurs of the world. BUT, of those handfuls, there are only a couple of NAMES who I believe have strived hard to not just expand their empire but uplift the entire Indian society along with them. And that's when I think Mr Kumar Managalam Birla stands tall amongst all the elite members of his club. Because it's not just about the business audacity that one employee to expand the empire but pure empathy and the strong willingness to carry on the golden legacy that the Birla's had established in this country, with the daring vision of taking the entire country with them on their pursuit of being HUGE. 

Be it Cement, Aluminium, Apparel or any other sector, Aditya Birla Group has sustained its leadership position in almost every sector that it operates in. But why is it important for a common student like me? Well, it is! 

There's only one strong factor that has made me look at the Aditya Birla Group with nothing but pure admiration. And it's none other than Mr Kumar Managalam Birla Sir himself. When at around 28 years of age, almost 70% of the graduates in this country are busy struggling to get hold of their careers, Sir had to sit at the helm of the Group. When most of us are found confused and trying our best to escape from the simplest of situations, Sir was handling probably one of the most difficult situations in his life, and in spite of every challenge that he might have faced (We all know he doesn't like to brag, so media has only a little information about him), he is today the head of one of the biggest conglomerates of India, and the Group which had a turnover of around $2 billion in 1995 is now around $40 billion. 

And even today, the way he deals with one of the most complex challenges, like for example the one going on in the telecom sector, is phenomenal. His strategy to leverage the synergy with the merger of Vodafone and Idea, and the decision to stay focused strictly in the mobility sector by enhancing the customer experience in the most basic yet the core offering of the telecom business (Voice) and keeping the Capex low through strategic collaborations, talks a lot about his way of dealing with the toughest of situations. 

This and many more excerpts about his approach (numerous acquisition stories - Recently about the $2.6 billion acquisition of Aleris) towards the Group's strides makes me feel extremely inspired by him. All of this - Intelligence, Intentions to uplift the nation, Audacity when gets combined with his extreme humility make the Aditya Birla Group, HUGE in my small life. THANK YOU, SIR, FOR INSPIRING STUDENTS LIKE US! 

B. How you overcame challenges to achieve your ambitions in life so far?

Fortunate are those, who get to work with great leaders. And I was one of those fortunate people, who got to work with an embodiment of a perfect leader. While I was pursuing my engineering, I auditioned for the Music Club of the college. When I entered as the first-year student in the club, I was new to the technicalities of music and musical instruments.  The initial days were overwhelming. I was anxious, being a misfit among my peers. But I had one simple yet a big ambition of mine that I was determined to achieve. And that was to become a better version of myself: Musically and as a Leader as well.

During this low time, I met one of the seniors of the club. He was the best singer in the college, and one of the most creative personalities, when it came to music. Yet, he was the most humble of the entire lot. He quickly perceived my discomfort, and was one of the major reasons, in the development of my overall personality. The day he completed his degree, I took a resolution, to try and become a leader like him. Not just musically, but also as an organizer.  And thus began my journey. 

I started with achieving proficiency in various technicalities of singing and musical instruments, with a thought in my mind, that in order to lead, I should not just have a designation or experience, but the hard-earned talent as well. Simultaneously, I never failed to observe the discomfort, that anyone around me could be facing, and tried my best to help him revive. My ability to connect to every kind of people around me, by addressing their problems and giving them solutions made me their go-to person. This relationship eventually evolved into me becoming their guardian of sorts, leading them, and the entire club, both musically and socially.

This nexus grew fast enough and the club then became a family of almost 100 people. I was then assigned the post of the Music Coordinator, in the Student’s Representative Council. During this tenure, I represented the club at the college and the university level. Now that, I was proficient enough in music, and with my experience, I came up with a new unsaid initiative, to choose the underdogs, and create a stellar performance out of them. During the annual cultural fest, the music cup and the Independence Day functions, I was able to lead my team, into delivering, one of the most amazing performances. We even bagged the second prize in the Music Cup. 

This was only possible, because of the right connect, that my senior had with me and thereby I could cultivate the same with my team. Since they trusted me, I made them believe that we can achieve everything with proper teamwork and dedication. And, eventually, the team pulled it off.  Leadership, is thus, not just the right technical skills or talents, but a right mix of skills and emotional connect, that a leader has.