How Have You Made An Impact
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. “ – Barak Obama
When I heard it, this quote felt like just another quote out there, but that’s how comical our life is. We understand the real meaning only when our life throws it back in our face.
Completing my graduation was dream come true for me, but then getting placed in one of the Big Four professional service firm made the deal just that much sweeter. On my first day at work, I was like any other fresher, an empty bag on my shoulder and a big smile on my face. My enthusiasm was enough to power me through the awkward networking sessions, overflow of introductions and joining formalities. A week after joining the firm, a notification popped up in my mailbox. On opening the mail I realised that it was from one of the Senior Managers in my team who had allotted me on a project in the BPO sector. With the new joiners adrenaline still pumping through my blood vessels I carefully examined each and every word in that email and it was then that it struck me, this is not a solution I had seen during our induction. Things suddenly got real. It was in the internal Kick-off next day that I was told that it’s a new solution our firm started offering and this engagement was a flagship project.
We had a scheduled Kick-off with the client the next day, the night before I ravaged all the possible reading options on Google to understand the solution.
On the day of the Kick-off, we reached the client’s office and sat in this huge conference room full of CXO’s. I was part of a team of 6 with people having a minimum experience of 5 years. Being new to the firm and my first engagement, my role was to shadow and deliver as the seniors suggested. We introduced the project, the solution and our strategy. But it was not as easy as we thought, we had a new solution to face that had a set of new and unique challenges every day, we had a staggering amount of scope to cover and a SPOC that was as confused about his firm as we were.
Our inexperience in tackling the solution started surfacing making the client doubt our skills and putting the project to risk. To turn the situation to worsen, due to a sudden resource crunch we had to let go of 2 seniors from the project and another senior had to leave on a month break for his upcoming nuptials.
And suddenly it was me and another senior on the ground. It was then that I realised shadowing my senior would not be enough anymore and I would have to take things into my hands. I started researching more about the engagement, tried to gain more perspective about the engagement. Thanks to the confidence shown by my senior I started participating in the client interactions which gave me a better clarity about the organisation. This gave me just the kick that was required, I started extending my days so as bring the project back to schedule.
The biggest risk that I took that turned out to be gold was when I had an option to reschedule a meeting or take it independently while my senior was on a leave and I decided to go for it. This took away any inhibitions that I had left. I started independently taking responsibility for a few domains with little to no supervision and assistance. This also eased up the workload on my senior as we could now divide the meetings and documentation and take ownership.
This efficient turn, helped us gain back the client’s trust that had shaken earlier. We were able to navigate the project back on track and complete the project with a slight delay but it didn’t matter because we were the first one not only in our firm but the entire industry to finish a project pertaining to this solution.
My spirit was recognized by not only my senior and Senior Manager but by the entire team. I received awards and client appreciation. But the biggest reward for our hard work came when the client decided to give the entire account across the globe to our firm.
This is when I realized the difference changing at the right time can make. Either change with time or wash away as it slides over you.
Why Aditya Birla Group Is Big In Your Life
Let’s say you walk out of your house ready to go for your job, a house you made years ago with UltraTech Cement. You are dressed in a crisp, fashionable yet formal Louis Phillip three-piece suit. You sit in the back seat of a car which in most probability has its exteriors made from the aluminium supplied by Novelis Aluminium and rides on tires made of rubber sourced from Birla Carbon. As you sit down, you realize its 2nd of the month and you haven’t paid your daughter’s tuition fees. That’s when you take out your mobile phone and use the unlimited data plan on you Vodafone Idea Limited connection to pay your bill using BHIM UPI on Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank and this is how you end up saving the day. From everyday necessities like clothes, food wrap and mobile connection to products for the cement and the chemical industry, Aditya Birla Group is a conglomerate that does it all. It’s a brand that provides a degree of trust, a brand we Indians can relate with and depend upon.
Finding the iconic branding of ABG on a product can give you the confidence required to go for the product without slightest doubts. This is a kind of goodwill ABG has earned over generations.
For many people out there ABG is not just a company it’s a brand that represents India as a whole on the global platform. A company that not only created iconic brands like Peter England, Freshwrap and UltraTech cement but also brought brands like Ralph Lauren and Allen Solly to the brand savvy market of India.
If a company can do all this for you, there isn’t a bigger impact you can ask for.