"My vocation is to strive continuously, to reach excellence in all spheres of management, by weaving the threads of enterprise, knowledge, experience, ideas and, tasks into a fabric that can be called 'management'"- Aditya Vikram Birla
In today's world of integration, it is tough to find a visionary leader or manager who has lived by his word and strived to inspire the industry. Aditya Vikram Birla, who was the creator of India's first global company which has reached prestigious fortune 500 strata in recent times, an extraordinarily dynamic and multifaceted organization- it was this visionary leader's relentless efforts that have inspired thousands of budding managers like me.
Having presence over 35 countries, Aditya Birla Group has emerged as a multinational conglomerate with imbibed core values like commitment, passion, integrity, seamlessness, and speed. The company has given a valuable lesson to the whole world by defining the goals and reaching to them efficiently in every step of its journey. "Let's reach for the sun"- this core value has been imbibed naturally by the company since its very inception.
Eight out of ten households in India today have the presence of the products manufactured by the group. The name of this company echoes in every possible house in India. I live in a house that is made of UltraTech cement. It's very pleasing to notice that, how this company has taken up customer's interest to its very own niche and trying to perfect it in every way possible. In the apparel industry, there is a strong presence of this company. With brands like Louis Phillipe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Pantaloons, and last but not the list Peter England- this company has reshaped the whole Indian apparel industry beautifully. To thrive its business big and massive, this company has established different brands in the same industry and proved that competing with oneself is an exciting way to become the leader. Also, Aditya Birla Group has redefined the telecom industry with the advent of Idea Cellular Network and with an innovative tagline: "What an Idea sirji!". I can still cherish the memory of my first mobile sim, which was associated with Idea Cellular Network.
As part of the Social Responsibility, Aditya Birla Group has established the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiative and Rural Development where they are transforming millions of rural lives every day. This great initiative was taken to build a better sustainable way of life for the weaker section of the society and improve the Human Development Index of India, and the company has excelled in its approach in every sense.
A JOURNEY AGAINST ALL ODDS
This is a story of a not so academically good, shy, inbound student’s journey towards MBA. Let’s jump forward to the part of the journey when I started college. During my schooling years, I used to have enjoyable extracurricular activities in my bag, but one thing in which I was never good at was people skills- be it making many acquaintances or giving a public speech. Being a student of a vernacular medium school from a small town, one thing I found out after joining college is that I could hardly speak a sentence in English. I was mostly inclined towards studies in college and MBA used to seem a far fetched dream for me. I used to become astonished by my MBA aspiring batchmates, who could give public speeches flawlessly, represent our college in various prestigious competitions and so on.
However, I always had this dream of studying MBA after graduation. Being an electrical engineering student, I used to wonder that even if I can manufacture a product on my own, what will be the next step? How can I find the gaps between customer needs and my offerings so that I can pitch my product successfully?
With so many speculations and procrastination in my mind, I decided to appear for CAT 2016. I had worried for VARC section, and when the results came out, I was not very shocked with my VARC score- a mere 28 Percentile. I decided to join the company I got from campus placements, Otis Elevators Company India Limited, as a Sales Trainee, with the dreams and hopes high for next year’s exam.
As a part of the sales team, I had to do a lot of groundwork, cold calling, interaction with the customer, and presentations. My soft skills were gradually improving, but I used to get very less time to prepare for CAT. With some extra miles and lots of hard work, I appeared for CAT 2017, with the hope to get a decent percentile in my weakest section- VARC. However, it failed me once again with a meager 53 Percentile.
I felt broken that day; my close friends started giving me suggestions not to waste time on MBA preparation, and instead, to try for Govt jobs. My parents started giving me the same advice about not pursuing MBA further. At the same point in time, I was relocated to a new location in my company, and I had to handle the sales of a particular city there. I was failing continuously for two months to generate sales because of the language barrier, and I gradually started feeling like a loser. Even my immediate manager started giving me the advice to stick to the company to rise in the corporate ladder and do not have a thought of pursuing higher studies.
I was adamant then that I have to get a handsome percentile in CAT and started giving my everything to excel VARC section. I remember solving Reading Comprehension passages in the bus while going for a client meeting, solving critical reasoning questions, learning new vocabulary while eating my dinner outside.
However, my luck was not that good, as just before my CAT 2018 examination, I was caught up with dengue. I started crying the day when my blood test report came, and my D-Day was just 15 days away. However, with not so much expectation about the result, I appeared for the exam. The morning when the result came, I could not believe my eyes that I have secured 95 Percentile in VARC section. I had joyful tears in my eyes that I can finally achieve my dream to pursue Marketing in a prestigious college. I eventually converted IMT Ghaziabad, and currently, I am pursuing my MBA in marketing there.
Looking back to the days when I was unsure of crossing even a 70 Percentile in CAT, I only realize the value of perseverance, hard work and a tiny bit of luck in achieving any of the dreams that we want to pursue in life. These traits have created a forever cherishing impression in my life that I will try to implement in any situation.
