It was a hot summer day. I was extremely excited to have “earned” my first mobile phone as a deal with my father if I secured good grades in 10th Standard. My brother were going to an Idea Store to get our first ever phone numbers. Incidentally, we got phone numbers which matched exactly to each other barring the last digit. It was so amazing and we were really excited by it. Today it reminds me how we should keep on getting joy from the little things in life. We till today have the same phone numbers and in a very odd way, has made my relationship with my brother stronger. Hence, unknowingly, Aditya Birla Group has had an impact on my life in a very positive way.
During childhood, I used to play cricket with all my elder brother’s friends. So very often I used to feel at a disadvantage because of my age. But gradually, I learnt the tricks of the trade and ended up being better than kids five years older than me. I learnt very early that age is never a barrier if you are determined and focused on winning. This lesson would come in handy in an unexpected way in the future.
In my 3rd year in engineering, I decided to participate in the intra-college football tournament. But having no prior experience of playing on a recognized level, I was not picked up by any of the existing teams. Not losing heart, I decided to form my own team. It was a herculean task but I was extremely excited. There was no guarantee of success, but just a strong determination to do something worthwhile. I started by conducting trials and formed a core group of players who could play well. We trained every day at whatever place we could find. Slowly but surely, I could see the team spirit building. We knew that we were nowhere near the rest in terms of technical ability, but we could win if we hide our weaknesses and focus on our strengths.
Finally the tournament came around, and we were a part of the 25 teams, out of which only 1 would go through to the final round. We came up against people older and better than us. But we stuck to our strategy and held our own against the mighty. After winning two rounds, we were in the final. It was a nail-biting match which went down to the penalty shoot-out. I was the person who scored the winning penalty and it was a moment that I will never forget in my life. Exhilarating, experience the feeling of being alive, that moment encapsulated it all. Whatever happens in the future, I will always have that one moment with myself for the rest of my life.
That experience taught me that I could lead a team, and lead a team to perform better than their potential. It made me realize quickly that managing people is what I want to learn and what better way to do that than through MBA. So I got myself into SIBM, Pune and my story continues…