“If living by our values means, perhaps growing at a pace slower than we would otherwise have liked, so be it. For us, leadership lies at the heart of knowing what we stand for.”
- Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla
Chairman, Aditya Birla Group
It is perhaps this single minded dedication towards the consumer and clarity of thought that makes ABG a force to be reckoned with. If we look around, ABG and its products are literally omnipresent as is also clear from its market dominance in the fashion, lifestyle, cement, mobile, insurance and many other industry verticals. ABG has created an end-to-end ecosystem which ensures customers get the best products that they need and have brands they can trust.
ABG is big for me both at a personal and professional level. When I shop from Allen Solly, American Eagle, Ralph Lauren, Louis Philippe or Van Heusen for formal and casual clothing, Ultratech for cement or use my Idea Sim card I know I am getting quality products and an experience I can cherish. The case also seems to be the exact same for a lot of people and is a true testimony to the unconditional trust consumers place in ABG and its brands, making ABG’s presence big in our lives.
More so, I derive great inspiration and personal life lessons from Aditya Birla Group’s journey which has consistently explored new frontiers, challenged the existing status quo, worked for the benefit of the customers, society, shareholders and more. Aditya Birla Group which started from humble beginnings but great determinations of its founders has only gone from strength to strength. It has changed the way people perceive Indian organisations, making it arguably, the most sought after employers in India and abroad. The story and unstoppable growth of Aditya Birla group is one of India’s great successes and something which has inspired not only the present but also the past generations making it really big in not only mine but others’ lives as well.
“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”
- T.S. Eliot
There are a few events which shape people’s lives and help define them. I feel the important thing in such instances is being courageous enough to embrace the challenge than to run away from it. For me, one such event was when I represented India and my university (Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore) at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Aero Design West 2014 competition supported by Lockheed Martin, SolidWorks (Dassault Systèmes), ANSYS, AUTODESK and Siemens and held at Texas, USA along with my collegiate Aero Design team, ‘Assailing Falcons’ and built an unmanned radio controlled aircraft, capable of lifting payload. This massive project helped me explore myself, my passions, interests, deepest fears and strongest motivations. I went in for this competition, not to prove anything to anyone but everything to myself, because I was sure that the scale and toughness of this competition would not only test my endurance but also bring me closer to knowing myself, a trait I feel is grossly underestimated but invaluable.
I along with my team spent countless hours after our daily college classes, assignments and projects and worked from early in the evenings to the wee hours of the next day, every single day, for a year. I distinctly remember encouraging a teammate when we didn’t sleep for two days straight and also had to stay back at college, missing out on our winter vacations for achieving a project milestone, that all of these challenges would become our precious memories down the line. And it couldn’t be truer. The responsibilities and initiatives that I took up to accomplish this project including aircraft design and analysis, fabrication, mechanical simulation, raw material sourcing, logistics, marketing, content management and campus engagement helped me realize my leadership potential and both my creative and analytical self.
Finally, when the moment of truth came and the referee gave the signal for our aircraft to take-off on that bright American afternoon in the lively state of Texas, and our aircraft took off the airstrip, I knew I felt genuine joy. The icing on the cake were the results which placed our team 10th internationally and 2nd nationally. This made all those nights of extreme effort, sacrifices, single minded dedication and diligence to our goal, worth it. This was a moment of revelation, that yes, everything is possible once one sets their mind to it. Indeed, the opportunity that I got and the impact I created brought me closer to myself and helped me unearth my hidden potential, making me a strong advocate in the power of self-belief and determination.