Recognition by TIME magazine, naming Mahindra among the world’s 50 Best Companies is meaningful in itself.
But when our team unearthed this clip from our 2012 leadership conference (where I refer to the Group aspiration we articulated in 2011), it made this milestone both extraordinarily satisfying and humbling.
At our 2011 annual leadership conference in Mumbai, we held a town hall with 500 leaders, which I co-moderated with Arun Maira, then a member of the Planning Commission. The objective was to ‘co-create’ a shared, time-bound vision for the Group.
I recall we floated several ideas. Given that this was a mission with a deadline, unlike our enduring Core Purpose of ‘Rise,’ I expected the room to lean toward a financial target. Perhaps a revenue milestone or a market cap goal.
They did exactly the opposite.
They argued that even a time-bound ambition should be of a higher order; something that would make them want to come to work every day.
The collective view was simple: if we aspired to become one of the world’s most admired companies, the numbers would follow.
To paraphrase a now well-known expression: when you truly want something (good) the universe conspires to help you achieve it.
The horizon we set was ten years. We overshot it by a few. But to have achieved what we once called an ‘outrageous ambition’ is deeply fulfilling.
So yes, perhaps the universe did play its part.
But in truth, this recognition belongs to our associates who carried that aspiration forward, quietly and consistently, building with purpose every day.
And finally, our gratitude to our customers across all our companies, who have, quite simply, been the wind beneath our wings.
In 2011, we set out a belief for ourselves.
Today, that belief stands validated.
Powered by our people and driven by purpose, we are proud to announce that Mahindra is among the World’s top 50 Best Companies, recognised by TIME.