top of page

By:

Divyaa Advaani 

2 November 2024 at 3:28:38 am

When agreement kills growth

In the early stages of building a business, growth is often driven by clarity, speed, and conviction. Founders make decisions quickly, rely on their instincts, and push forward with a strong sense of belief in their methods. This decisiveness is not only necessary, it is often the very reason the business begins to grow. However, as businesses cross certain thresholds, particularly beyond the Rs 5 crore mark, the nature of growth begins to change. What once created momentum can quietly begin...

When agreement kills growth

In the early stages of building a business, growth is often driven by clarity, speed, and conviction. Founders make decisions quickly, rely on their instincts, and push forward with a strong sense of belief in their methods. This decisiveness is not only necessary, it is often the very reason the business begins to grow. However, as businesses cross certain thresholds, particularly beyond the Rs 5 crore mark, the nature of growth begins to change. What once created momentum can quietly begin to create limitations. In many professional environments, it is not uncommon to encounter business owners who are deeply convinced of their approach. Their methods have delivered results, their experience reinforces their judgment, and their confidence becomes a defining trait. Yet, in this very confidence lies a subtle risk that is often overlooked. When conviction turns into certainty without space for dialogue, conversations begin to narrow. Suggestions are heard, but not always considered. Perspectives are offered, but not always encouraged. Decisions are made, but not always explained. From the outside, this may still appear as strong leadership. Internally, however, a different dynamic begins to take shape. People start to agree more than they contribute. This is where many businesses unknowingly enter a critical phase. When teams, partners, or stakeholders begin to hold back their perspective, the quality of thinking around the business reduces. What appears as alignment is often silent disengagement. What looks like efficiency is sometimes the absence of challenge. Over time, this directly affects the decisions being made. At a Rs 5 crore level, this may not be immediately visible. Operations continue, revenue flows, and the business appears stable. But as the organisation attempts to grow further, this lack of diverse thinking begins to surface as a constraint. Growth slows, not because of lack of effort, but because of limited perspective. On the other side of this equation are individuals who consistently find themselves accommodating such dynamics. They recognise when their voice is not being fully heard, yet choose not to assert it. The intention is often to preserve relationships, avoid friction, or maintain a sense of professional ease. Initially, this approach appears collaborative. Over time, however, it begins to shape perception. When individuals do not express their perspective, they are gradually seen as agreeable rather than essential. Their presence is valued, but their input is not actively sought. In many cases, they become part of the process, but not part of the decision. This is where personal branding begins to influence business outcomes in ways that are not immediately obvious. A personal brand is not built only through visibility or achievement. It is built through how consistently one demonstrates clarity, confidence, and openness in moments that require it. It is shaped by whether people feel encouraged to think around you, or restricted in your presence. At higher levels of business, this distinction becomes critical. If people agree with you more than they challenge you, it may not be a sign of strong leadership. It may be an indication that your environment is no longer enabling better thinking. Similarly, if you find yourself constantly adjusting to others without expressing your own perspective, your contribution may be diminishing in ways that affect both your influence and your growth. Both situations carry a cost. They affect decision quality, limit innovation, and over time, restrict the scalability of the business itself. What makes this particularly challenging is that these patterns develop gradually, often going unnoticed until the impact becomes difficult to ignore. The most effective leaders recognise this early. They create space for dialogue without losing direction. They express conviction without dismissing perspective. They build environments where contribution is expected, not avoided. In doing so, they strengthen not only their business, but also their personal brand. For entrepreneurs operating at a stage where growth is no longer just about execution but about expanding thinking, this becomes an important point of reflection. If there is even a possibility that your current interactions are limiting the quality of thinking around you, it is worth addressing before it begins to affect outcomes. I work with a select group of founders and professionals to help them refine how they are perceived, communicate with greater impact, and build personal brands that support sustained growth. You may explore this further here: https://sprect.com/pro/divyaaadvaani In the long run, it is not only the decisions you make, but the thinking you allow around those decisions, that determines how far your business can truly grow. (The author is a personal branding expert. She has clients from 14+ countries. Views personal.)

Bodoland’s Burden

In Assam’s hills, ethnic identity and political ambition collide as voters decide who will control Bodoland’s fragile autonomy.

Assam
Assam

The Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections, which were held under tight security in western Assam, seem ostensibly a routine democratic exercise. Yet, in a region where identity, insurgency, and politics have long been intertwined, every vote carries a weight far beyond the ballot box.


The BTC, created in 2003 after decades of armed struggle and negotiation, was meant to provide a measure of autonomy to the Bodo people, Assam’s largest indigenous tribe. The Bodos’ grievances are rooted deep in colonial-era policies and post-independence Assam’s ethno-linguistic ferment. In the late 19th century, the British had encouraged migration of non-Bodo communities into the Brahmaputra valley for administrative and agrarian purposes. Land pressures and cultural marginalization followed, sowing the seeds of discontent. By the 1980s, frustrations over perceived neglect and encroachment erupted into insurgency, spearheaded by the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT).


After years of violence, the 2003 Bodoland Territorial Council accord marked a truce, granting the Bodos limited self-rule over a contiguous area in western Assam. Yet autonomy has always been fragile, contested by other ethnic groups within the council area, and complicated by political rivalries that often mirror the larger state-level tussles in Assam. The council has oscillated between factions, with the Bodoland Peoples’ Front (BPF) dominating for three terms before the rise of the United Peoples’ Party Liberal (UPPL), now the incumbent authority. Alliances with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have added another layer of complexity, as national parties increasingly assert influence in what was once an exclusively tribal political domain.


This year’s elections are particularly telling. The BJP, contesting for the first time in the BTC without an alliance, seeks to consolidate its foothold, reflecting the party’s broader strategy of penetrating Assam’s ethno-regional politics. Chief Minister HimantaBiswaSarma, a former Congress heavyweight turned BJP strategist, has cultivated a blend of developmental promises and political patronage aimed at winning over key Bodo constituencies. His approach is calculated: by supporting UPPL incumbents while weakening the BPF’s traditional base, he hopes to ensure that Bodoland’s governance aligns with the BJP’s broader ambitions in Assam without provoking outright ethnic backlash. It is a delicate balancing act, reminiscent of the party’s manoeuvres in the northeast more generally, where local alliances and identity politics can override conventional electoral calculus.


Meanwhile, the BPF hopes to reclaim lost ground after its recent decline, and the UPPL faces the challenge of defending its incumbency amid rising local expectations. Smaller parties, such as the Congress and the Gana Suraksha Party, add to the cacophony, though the real contest remains among the three principal players. The UPPL currently governs in coalition with the BJP and GSP, a tenuous arrangement reflecting the fragility of alliances in Bodoland politics.


Despite these machinations, the vote itself is a measure of civic engagement. More than 2.65 million voters, half of them women, are eligible this time, a figure that speaks to both demographic growth and expanding political awareness. Sarma’s exhortation to vote underscores the centrality of these elections not just for local governance but for the stability of Assam’s broader political ecosystem. Early reports suggest healthy turnout, an encouraging sign in a region where past elections have sometimes been marred by intimidation and violence.


Yet the history of Bodoland reminds observers that political arithmetic alone cannot resolve the region’s deeper tensions. Ethnic fault lines persist, often exacerbated by migration, land disputes, and competition for resources. Previous accords have brought temporary calm, but durable peace depends on more than autonomous councils or power-sharing deals: it requires a genuine sense of inclusion for all communities within the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), alongside sustained economic development. Infrastructure, education, and employment are as crucial to stability as political arrangements.


The outcome of the September 26 vote will determine which coalition shapes the next chapter of Bodoland governance. Whatever the result, the elections are less a conclusion than a continuation of a centuries-long story of the Bodos’ search for identity and agency.

Comments

bottom of page