They have a finger in every pie, be it Branded Apparel, Textile, Yarn and Fibre manufacturing (AB Fashion and Retail Ltd. owned brands, Grasim, etc.), Telecom(erstwhile Idea Cellular which recently merged into Vodafone India), UltraTech Cement, Financial Services for every kind of consumer(Aditya Birla Capital), Metals(Hindalco and Novelis), Carbon black(after acquiring Columbian Chemicals Co.), Chemicals, Fertilisers and BPO and IT Services etc. The list is very long and every next pie brings a sweeter reward not only to the people who constitute the Aditya Birla Group and their ever-growing customer base but also to the Indian Economy in general. With a revenue of about 45 Billion USD, they are the third largest conglomerate in India and growing – a fact that overshadows any other statistic about their business that can be thrown around.
With over 120,000 employees in over 40 countries, ABG is in the League of Fortune 500, and a representative of Indian economic and business might on the international stage. They have been an infallible Indian competition to giant foreign conglomerates since India became independent, which is a matter of national pride.
And they’re on the path to give back more than they’re taking – by nurturing young Indians into the leaders of future through two prominent, well known and ambitious programs – the ABG Scholarship Programme(since 1997) and the ABG Leadership Programme(since 2007). This is perhaps the most altruistic a business can be – bringing young students from different economical, cultural and educational backgrounds into the folds of mentoring that fosters entrepreneurship at both the domestic and international levels. The competitive edge can be had only this way – for both the business that offers such mentorship and the national population in general.
I and my family have used ABG products since the longest time, whether or not we were aware of it. The first cellular provider my family used way back in 2006 was Idea Cellular Ltd., and when I got into college, I continued with the same too, to this day even. I distinctly remember the “What an Idea Sirji!” catchphrase that is reminiscent of those times. There are at least 3 Idea 3G customers in my home. I have used UltraTech in my construction projects, see how common the name of this cement was when I was interning during my college, and have recommended it to people who wanted to build something. I and my siblings have bought quite a lot of apparel from ABG owned brands like Peter England(of which we had a lot of), Allen Solly, Louis Philippe, and Pantaloons, etc. A close relative of mine has AB Capital Health and Motor Insurances. These facts bear witness to the ubiquity and influence of ABG in my daily life, and of millions of other people like me too.
The Aditya Birla Group is more than a goose that lays golden eggs – it’s a philosopher’s stone that turns to gold everything it touches – a market or a person. And that is why I consider their story a primer for achievement and accomplishment.
The challenges I faced-
I come from a middle class family in a semi-rural small town in North India. I am the middle of three children, which is a difficult predicament to come to terms with, as any middle child anywhere in the world would know. The competition for affection and resources is high, and the middle child is almost always the runner-up. This is a mostly hilarious challenge that I consider I have overcome, now that I understand the overarching grand design of families that the powers-that-be conjure from nothing.
Throughout the time I spent in school, I was an ordinary child like almost all others when it came to academics. And this makes distinguishing oneself an uphill battle in this regard. So I did what I knew how to do best – participating in and many a time organizing extra-curricular activities. This went on in college too, where I studied Civil Engineering. I was at the fore of such activities at both school and college, whether organizing or participating, and this helped me fearlessly and unhesitatingly approach and interact with people from all walks of life and in various positions of authority. I overcame the challenge of my disadvantage in academics by learning what no book would ever teach me – being a social person and knowing the right people.
For the longest time, every time I bought a popular product, I imagined in wonderment about what caused its name and the business that manufactures it to become so well-known, and more importantly, about what caused me to trust a popular but strange name so much so that I’d give my money to acquire that product. The curiosity to find the answers to these semi-existential questions led to me discovering the art of conducting business, the methods that gifted business leaders use to make the greatest sales pitches, to acquire customers and retain them, and inspiring myself to emulate the success through the enterprising individual I found dormant inside of me. And thus, I overcame the challenge of discovering my true calling in life.
In our neck of woods, government jobs are the hallmark of success, to a significant extent. The great irony of places such as where I come from is that while enterprising nature of people is considered to be something that must be admired and emulated, rarely anyone, if ever, can be seen encouraging their children or young adults to tread this oft unbeaten path. The security and comfort that the cozy, snail-quick bureaucracy of the government offers are prioritized in the general and educational culture of the young – which is a great challenge I faced. And I overcame it, by setting my mind for a career in Business Administration, which I consider no small feat especially where it is a sign of delinquent waywardness to not adhere to the status quo.
I was set on it, I had seen the light of the lodestar, visible through the clouds of a dull existence where the only end is a pension from the government and the only means a stagnant bureaucratic rut. So I decided to do an MBA after I graduated from college, and there it was, another great challenge staring at me – gaining entry into a reputed B-School.
Right after graduated, I dirtied my hands by starting a very small and informal construction business as a contractor for a few months, a significant challenge itself which I overcame when it made me some money. And for the remainder of that year, I prepared for MBA entrance exams for IIMs like there was no tomorrow. The rest is history. I am writing this essay sitting in an IIM Dormitory.
This essay is about two Magellanic voyages. An ordinary boy with ordinary academic credentials from an ordinary family gaining entry into an IIM. And about an ordinary man, Shiv Narayan Birla, laying the foundation of the clan that made history by establishing India’s first multinational that put this country on the world map. And I believe neither has reached the destination yet.
I believe both are destined to make a dent in the universe, which is the greatest ambition a company, or any individual human being can have.
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