“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
These words are the reason that makes Aditya Birla Group stand apart from the crowd. With a legacy of more than 160 years, Aditya Birla Group has entered into our lives in so many domains that it is safe to say that every Indian would have used some or the other product of ABG at least once in his or her life.
From using Freshwrapp Aluminium foil for lunch during my school days, here I am sitting in a B-school wearing Louis Phillipe suits day in and day out. Luxury brands like Allen Solly, Peter England, Van Heusen and Louis Phillipe have taken the Indian markets by the storm. ABG is not only the third largest Indian private sector conglomerate, but it is also a brand with which everyone wants to associate with. The roots of the group can be traced back to 1857 in the village of Pilani, Rajasthan when Seth Shiv Narayan Birla ventured into cotton trading. Since then, the group has expanded its business towards financial services, telecom, cement, chemicals, branded apparels, fertilisers, etc.
I believe the biggest impact that one can have in someone else’s life is through education. I have graduated from IIT (BHU) Varanasi, worked as a Market Analyst for 3.5 years in Futures First but I felt the liveliest during my 6-month short stint at T.I.M.E. There, I taught Quantitative Analysis to students preparing for CAT / BMS / IPM. It felt great because I was touching so many lives and actually adding value. I believe it is unique because not a lot of 27-year-olds get a chance to be a teacher. I could do that and it felt great, more so because I was teaching Mathematics which has always been my favourite subject.
One of the main challenges was that I had to be well versed with topics that I had studied 9 years ago, so much so that each and every student in my batches gets to understand the topic. I put in full efforts for that because I loved doing it. All in all, it was a very good experience and that was evident from the messages and cards that I received from my students when I had to leave the job to pursue an MBA.
Leaving the job that I so dearly loved is also something that was a tough decision. But, we have to take some important steps in our career because not moving forward means moving backwards. One should stay focused on their goal. Even if the goal is not achieved, the efforts that are put in would surely add value. If you fear embarrassment, you would never be able to step out of your comfort zone.
“A ship is meant to be sailed, not to be in the harbour.”