Part A
Aditya Birla Group has touched many people’s lives. Through their different product range ABG has always served nation. From Ultratech cement to Idea, we are being connected by the strongest link.
I remember when I got my first cellphone in 2008. I was travelling with a student’s group to Nagaland, the north-eastern state of India, for getting selected in a science project. Usually the network there is very weak. I was in high school back then. My father gave me a minimalistic handset and an Idea sim. I was excited as it was my first ever phone.
My father used to call me every day to ask how I’m doing. Those were the days when serial bomb-blasting across India was a major concern of security.
One day the newspaper headlines read ‘Serial bomb-blasts in Guwahati’. The station from where I was expected to commute the previous day. My family was very tensed. They tried to contact me, but no networks were working. They kept on trying to call me and other group members.
Finally, the next day my phone rang. My father got relief. He was out of the trauma he was facing from two days. Everyone got to know that only Idea network is working and hence used my phone to connect with their families.
I can never forget this incident and how at that crucial moment of life Idea has helped me keep connected with my family. I still have subscribed to Idea network and it’ll be like that forever!
Part B
Nothing ever goes away, until it teaches us what we need to know- Pema Chodron
My biggest challenge was to work as first and only female employee in my last organization. I didn’t realize how challenging it was until I was on the shop floor wearing the heavy safety shoes and decked up with safety jacket.
On the first day of my interaction with the technicians I was very nervous, though I am not scared of public speaking, that day I could not manage to speak a word. The workers clearly weren’t ready accept a lady engineer working on site shoulder-to-shoulder with them. Many of them when they first interacted with me asked why I choose the field and they believed this job is not good for girls.
As the days passed by, the mindset of everyone changed. My confidence boosted and I was able to handle the shifts single handedly. How this change happened can’t be explained with exact reasons.
Most important thing to overcome this challenge was improving my knowledge of the subjects. Because I had better understanding of subject people started listening to me and respected my decisions. Also, people management helps when you want to manage such diverse group. Understanding their basic needs and catching the emotion helps in directing the efforts in right way.
The knowledge and experience I gained in my previous company have certainly helped me to become a better professional. B-school learning is giving me valuable insights of the managerial situations I had handled earlier.
