My Experiences As A Mahindra GMC Intern - A First Week To Remember

By Jagruti Jagdish Shenoy

Having previously worked in a sister company of M&M, I knew about the opportunities that each person associated with this organisation gets to achieve what they have always looked for. I was overjoyed to receive another chance to go back and do my summer internship with the Mahindra Group and had been waiting for the day, 2nd of April 2019 to be precise, when I would join at their Worli office, with 30-odd brightest minds from other B-schools. Imagine the amount of learning one would have at such a place, with such wonderful people!

And finally, the day had come! It was an extremely hilarious situation, when in my excitement to resume internship, I reached the venue about an hour and a half before the time we were supposed to be present. Like most other companies to do, the Group HR team had lots of goodies and merchandise waiting for us, but what was most special was the warmth and the feeling of belongingness that the organisation has to offer which, I believe, barely any other company does for you.

Day 1 began with a round of ice-breaker session that helped us know each other better. Next up were a series of sessions by the Leadership from various businesses of Mahindra, including one by the CFO-CIO, which helped us develop an understanding of the fact that despite the diverse portfolio that the Group is spread into, what binds each of these businesses is the RISE tenets. The RISE culture is so ingrained in each of these, in their own unique way, that it helps them nurture a familial environment within the organisation. And, that was, of course, the most beautiful takeaway for me from my Day 1.

Day 2 was even more amazing with our journey for the day starting with a session with the MD himself, Mr. Pawan Goenka. We sat listening, with rapt attention, while he answered each of our questions on varied topics, from regulations to trends, from cars to planes, and so on.

The audacious decisions that the Group had taken and how it had worked in the organisation growing to these heights, that targets that the company had, not just for its businesses but also towards the environment and its people, the strategy that worked and the ones that did not, the acquisitions that Mahindra made in these years and the story behind each, and much more - there was so much to learn from this man! The best was yet to come!

The journey of this induction would not have been as fulfilling had we not met Mr. Anand Mahindra! All of us were quite overwhelmed by his humility and creativity during the interaction that revolved around what leadership traits do today's political leaders portray, what kind of leader does this generation seek for themselves and how do we define the purpose of our lives. I am glad I got a chance to speak my thoughts in front of this amazing human being. The memory of this interaction is something I would cherish all my life. The day ended with all of us enjoying a splendid unset at Marine Drive.

Day 3 was dedicated to understanding the flagship businesses - Auto, Farm and Agri, wherein we were addressed by senior leaders from each of these businesses who candidly shared their learnings and helped us gain insights on how the Group has evolved to become the number 1 in the world in tractors by volume, and that there's so much more to its list of products and brands that just automobiles. The last segment of the induction was a fun event with the Board Games Co. helping us unwind with unique games and puzzles. It definitely took us back to the time when we were kids!

The last day of the induction was definitely one of the most learning-oriented days of the induction wherein we were introduced to Design Thinking by Prof. Suranjan Das from SPJIMR. It helped us unleash the creativity in us and gave us an approach to think out-of-the-box which would surely aid us in problem-solving during the summer internship and later.

What makes this experience unique is the way the GMC team and the Group HR curated it for us, to suit our needs and how seamlessly it was executed - we ended up being more zealous than before to commence our internship journey after this induction program.

Stay tuned for more such experiences from my internship, while you read what my fellow GMC interns have to say through their stories.