“I have lIved by a sIngle mantra that Is If you cannot do great thIngs, do small thIngs In great ways”
Marching Ahead on The Green Road to Prosperity
Besides possessing a rich experience of more than 45 years and receiving numerous professional accolades, the Founder-cum-Managing Director of HPM Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd., Mr. Ashok Aggarwal
also has a heart of gold and is ever ready to share his insights with the youth and give back to the society in every possible way
the old adage, “Hard work is the key to success” holds true for Mr. Aggarwal who has been trodding on the path to fame and success owing to his earnestness. His humble disposition is quite apparent from the fact that he has high regards for his team and gives it due credit while elaborating on his success. Significantly, he talks about his struggles and disappointments unabashedly: “The story of my success is not just mine, it is the result of our whole HPM team’s hard work. Looking back at the past years, I have grown and learned so much here in agrochemical industry. I have struggled tremendously in the past years. I never thought that I would actually accomplish my dreams and be successful in my life, but I definitely have proved, myself wrong. Many times I was confronted with huge disappointments, conditions were not generally positive to me. Obstacles came in my way and I continued pushing forward. Failure is the highway to success, ‘If you want to succeed, double your failure rate.’ I love knowing that I am doing great and I will really try to do my best in future.”
OVERCOMING CHALLENGES WITH ÉLAN
Life is full of challenges, it’s our perception which decides whether we choose to recognize them as opportunity or threat and this approach makes all the difference. Sharing with AsiaOne some of the challenges that Mr. Aggarwal faced and some of his self-devised techniques which he employed to counter them, he says: “In our personal and professional lives we face many challenges that test our emotional and mental condition. We are all learning. No one gets it right every time. The dynamic process of life — trying, succeeding, failing, and trying again — is the only way to develop lasting confidence in ourselves. I saw many fluctuations in my life. But I always thought about my farmers, my people and my country, that I could have done better for everyone.”
He adds, “I worked hard day and night and never looked back. Some of the times I had no idea how would I overcome the challenges. But I never lose hope. My whole life is filled with challenges. Many people spread rumours and many negative words about HPM, but I just did and am still doing my work with dignity and hard work, without paying any attention to their point of view. I specifically learned while overcoming those challenges that facing life challenges with fear will take you nowhere unless you accept the fear and make it your strength. Do something that will make your today better than what’s come before.”
SKILLED FARMERS; PROSPEROUS NATION
A noble soul who is deeply concerned about the welfare of others, Mr. Aggarwal is an ardent advocate of skill development of farmers and believes that they need to be trained in order to gain financial prosperity. He elaborates, “Despite the tremendous success of agro chemical industry, I feel farmers are not getting benefit in the real sense. What I feel is that a huge turnover is generated with the help of farmers so even they should get some real benefits from it. I think farmer education and awareness is intrinsic for improving the financial growth of farmers, as in many foreign countries they produce a relatively larger profit from farming than in India. If I get a chance, I would open an institution for farmers where they would be able to learn tactics to reap maximum profit out of their land, efforts and money.”
CHERISHING ASSOCIATIONS
Mr. Aggarwal is a person for whom family comes first and feels grateful to have a strong support system and always takes pleasure in giving his family due credit for his success. Reminiscing his moments of triumphs, he says, “Everyone has their own unforgettable moments, including me. I have many moments of triumphs. I have received many awards and all those are unforgettable moments. But when my daughter Mrs. Tapasya Goel joined HPM that was the actual moment of triumph for me. My family supported me in every thick and thin. Whenever obstacles came in my way they always stood up with me. As I said before, when my daughter Mrs. Tapasya Goel joined HPM as Executive Director of the company she took every responsibility. Today, the company is at the height of success and she has a huge contribution in it.” He derives motivation to work hard by working for the welfare of others and bringing about a positive change in the life of the people whom he associates with. As he puts it: “If I am talking about my motivation – that comes from providing excellent service to every farmer with whom I come in contact. Whenever I see farmers working day and night, their work inspires me to do better in my profession. I look for opportunities to improve my service skills so that each farmer I interact with will have a positive experience.”
“I thInk farmer educatIon Is IntrInsIc for theIr growth … If I get a chance, I would open an InstItutIon for farmers where they would be able to learn tactIcs to reap maxImum profIt out of theIr land, efforts and money”
SERVING THE SOCIETY
According special emphasis on corporate social responsibility, Mr. Aggarwal feels that his highest career point was when his employees participated dedicatedly in a CSR initiative rolled out by his company. HPM has been an early adopter of a strong CSR agenda. HPM has had many different CSR ventures, which have proved to be massive crowd pullers & are great initiatives. All tasks are arranged in a participatory way, in counsel with the group, truly sitting with them, and checking their fundamental needs. HPM has taken the path of inclusive development to address their basic needs. HPM cumulatively touched the lives of millions of farmers in villages and various urban locations. HPM strives to uphold its dignity in every sphere of society. HPM had always indulged itself in the processes related to the social, economical & environment viabilities. We have had events like ‘ Green Nation Clean Nation ‘ which proved to be a massive crowd puller & was of great initiative. We have had events like ‘Santosh Krishi Divas’ where books & several goodies were distributed free of cost, enhancing the school outlook in backward areas. We have done CSR like ‘Help him to breathe’. It’s a story of a small child who was suffering from the heart valve blocked disease, we have done CSR like ‘Make Sure they have smile too,’ in this CSR campaign we adopted 9 girl children and took the responsibility of their education and bright future.”
INSPIRING FUTURE GENERATIONS
Mr. Aggarwal’s straightforwardness and humble approach has won the hearts of numerous budding entrepreneurs, giving them their major life goals. His message for the young generation is “Get out of negativity, stop blaming everyone else for your problems, and stop blowing up small issues into epic tragedies. If you wallow in misery, you’ll never find a way out. Find the strength within yourself. Stop giving others the responsibility and power to the outcome of your life. Stop looking to others, and be your own hero, be the best that you can be. Save your own life, because when it comes down to it you are the only one who can. Make every day something you can be proud of.”
