Shaping dreams into destiny: Ajay Piramal shares six career lessons for young leaders

Piramal Group chairman Ajay Piramal told awardees at The Economic Times 40 under Forty felicitation ceremony that as India moves towards becoming the world's third-largest economy, they were at a critical stage in the country's economic journey.

"The best is yet to come," Piramal said, sharing six lessons from his life and career-from navigating crises and making independent decisions to giving back and keeping health and family ahead of professional success.

Piramal said he was pleased that the event celebrated people creating wealth rather than merely inheriting it. "If we don't have people who are going to create wealth, how will we progress?" he asked.


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Embrace Adversity

Piramal said life was not a graph with a constantly upward slope.

"We need to recognise that in life, every one of us will have to go through ups and downs," he said.

One of three sons born into a textile business family, Piramal lost his father when he was young and, at 28, was forced to lead the business. Mumbai's textile industry was facing a strike across every mill, and his family's business was facing bankruptcy. The experience taught him that challenges could open new doors. Had it not been for the textile crisis, the group might not have diversified into pharmaceuticals.

"What is important is to have equanimity," he said. "Yes, it is difficult, but things will work out."

Make your own decisions

Data, consultants and advice are valuable, but can't replace individual responsibility. "At the end of the day, you cannot outsource your judgment or decision-making," he said.

He cited the group's decision to diversify from textiles into pharmaceuticals in his early 30s. At the time, multinationals and global consultants viewed India as an unattractive pharmaceutical market.

"I think that our own judgment made the difference," said Piramal.

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Apply purpose, values

The third lesson was that every business needed a purpose. For Piramal, that was "doing well and doing good." Businesses had to perform at the highest level, but also contribute to society.

Across the group's operations, the same values applied: "Technology, action, care and impact." That holds the group together, he said.

From desire to destiny

Piramal's fourth lesson centred on the power of desire and the ability to shape one's destiny. He rejected the idea that people were bound by fate.

After acquiring Nicholas Laboratories in 1988, the business was ranked 48th in the industry.

A year later, he set a target of taking it into the top five by 2000 and the group achieved the goal. "You can convert your desire if you have the right way and put in the right work," Piramal said.

Give back early

The fifth lesson was that it's never too early to give back. Piramal urged the audience to recognise how much they received from nature every day.

"During Covid, even the richest people were scrambling to get an oxygen cylinder. And what do we do today? We have oxygen all the time," he said. "Nature is giving us everything. Let us give back. And let's start that early."

Keep priorities in right order

Piramal's final lesson was to set clear priorities: health first, family second and business, profession or other pursuits third.

Piramal concluded that the lessons he had learned before turning 40 continued to guide him and urged the awardees to reflect on whether they made sense in their own lives.