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By:

Rashmi Kulkarni

23 March 2025 at 2:58:52 pm

Making a New Normal Feel Obvious

Normal is not what’s written. Normal is what repeats. The temple bell rings at the same time every day. Not everyone prays. Not everyone even walks in. Some people don’t care at all. And yet when that bell rings, the whole neighborhood syncs. Shops open, chores move, calls pause. The bell doesn’t convince anyone. It simply creates rhythm. That’s how “normal” is built inside a legacy MSME too. Not by speeches. By repetition. Quick recap: Week 1: You inherited an equilibrium. Week 2: People...

Making a New Normal Feel Obvious

Normal is not what’s written. Normal is what repeats. The temple bell rings at the same time every day. Not everyone prays. Not everyone even walks in. Some people don’t care at all. And yet when that bell rings, the whole neighborhood syncs. Shops open, chores move, calls pause. The bell doesn’t convince anyone. It simply creates rhythm. That’s how “normal” is built inside a legacy MSME too. Not by speeches. By repetition. Quick recap: Week 1: You inherited an equilibrium. Week 2: People resist loss, not improvement. Week 3: Status quo wins when your new way is harder. Week 4 is the next problem: even when your idea is good and even when it is easy, it can still fail because people don’t move together. One team starts. Another team waits. One person follows. Another person quietly returns to the old way. So, the old normal comes back … not because your idea was wrong, but because your new normal never became normal. Which Seat? • Inherited : people expect direction, but they only shift when they see what you consistently protect. • Hired : people wait for proof “Is this just a corporate habit you’ll drop in a month?” • Promoted : people watch whether you stay consistent under pressure. Now here’s the useful idea from Thomas Schelling: a “focal point”. Don’t worry about the term. In simple words, it means: you don’t need everyone convinced. You need one clear anchor that everyone can align around. In a legacy MSME, that anchor is rarely a policy document. It’s not a rollout email. It’s a ritual. Why Rituals? These firms run on informal rules, relationships, memory, and quick calls. That flexibility keeps work moving, but it also makes change socially risky. Even supportive people hesitate because they’re thinking: “If I follow this and others don’t, I’ll look foolish.” “If I share real numbers, will I become the target?” “If I push this new flow, will I upset a senior person?” “If I do it properly, will it slow me down?” When people feel that risk, they wait. And waiting is how the status quo survives. A focal ritual breaks the waiting. It sends one clean signal: “This is real. This is how we work now.” Focal Ritual It’s a short, fixed review that repeats with the same format. For example: a weekly scoreboard review (15 minutes) a daily dispatch huddle (10 minutes) a fixed purchase-approval window (cutoff + queue) The meeting isn’t the magic. The repetition is. When it repeats without drama, it becomes believable. When it becomes believable, people start syncing to it, even the ones who were unsure. Common Mistake New leaders enter with energy and pressure: “show impact”. So they try to fix reporting, planning, quality, procurement, digitization … everything. The result is predictable. People don’t know what is truly “must follow”. So everything becomes “optional”. They do a little of each, and nothing holds. If you want change to stick, pick one focal ritual and make it sacred. Not forever. Just long enough for the bell to become the bell. Field Test Step 1 : Pick one pain area that creates daily chaos: delayed dispatch, pending purchase approvals, rework, overdue collections. Step 2 : Set the ritual: Fixed time, fixed duration (15 minutes). One scoreboard (one page, one screen). Same three questions every time: – What moved since last time? – What is stuck and why? – What decision is needed today? One owner who closes the loop (decisions + due dates). Step 3 : Protect it for 8 weeks. Don’t cancel because you’re busy. Don’t skip because a VIP came. Don’t “postpone once” because someone complained. I’ve seen a simple weekly dispatch scoreboard die this exact way. Week one was sharp. By week three, it got pushed “just this once” because someone had a client visit. Week four, it moved again for “urgent work”. After that, nobody took it seriously. The old follow-ups returned, and the leader was back to chasing people daily. The first casual cancellation tells the system: “This was a phase”. And the old normal returns fast. One Warning Don’t turn the ritual into policing. If it becomes humiliation, people will hide information. If it becomes shouting, people will stop speaking. If it becomes a lecture, people will mentally leave. Keep it calm. Keep it consistent. Keep it useful. A bell doesn’t shout. It just rings. (The author is Co-founder at PPS Consulting and a business operations advisor. She helps businesses across sectors and geographies improve execution through global best practices. She could be reached at rashmi@ppsconsulting.biz)

Commodity Markets: Driving Forces Behind Global Economic Trends

The commodity market is a platform where raw materials and primary products are bought, sold, and traded. These products range from agricultural goods such as wheat and rice to energy resources like crude oil and natural gas, as well as metals including gold, silver, copper and aluminium. Commodity markets play a crucial role in the global economy because they influence prices, trade flows, and overall economic stability.


Globally, commodity trading takes place through organised exchanges such as the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). In India, major platforms include the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) and the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX). These exchanges provide transparent and regulated platforms for hedging, price discovery, speculation, and balancing global demand and supply.


Participants in the Commodity Market There are four main participants in commodity markets Producers (farmers, miners, and oil companies who produce commodities), Consumers (industries and businesses that use commodities as inputs), Traders and investors (participants who trade for profit or risk management) & Governments and regulators (who monitor markets and ensure stability). Commodity trading happens mainly in two ways first Spot Market buying and selling commodities for immediate delivery and second through Futures Market contracts where buyers and sellers agree today to trade a commodity at a fixed price on a future date. Futures contracts help companies manage risk and protect themselves from price fluctuations, especially in volatile markets.


Global commodity prices are primarily driven by demand and supply. However, several external factors also influence them Geopolitical events like wars and conflicts, such as the Russia–Ukraine war, which significantly impacted oil and wheat prices. Weather conditions like floods, droughts, or climate change affecting crop output (for example, floods in Pakistan impacting agricultural supply). Economic growth a strong growth in countries like China increases demand for metals and energy. US Dollar strength most commodities are priced in USD. When the dollar strengthens, commodities become more expensive for other countries, reducing demand.


Importance

Commodity markets are important because they:

• Help control and transmit inflation.

• Impact currency values and trade balances.

• Influence stock markets and corporate profits.

• Determine the cost of living by affecting food and energy prices.


Impact of FY 2026–27 Budget

In the Union Budget for FY 2026–27, the Indian government emphasized manufacturing and infrastructure. A public capital expenditure of Rs 12.2 lakh crore was announced, with strong support for sectors such as biopharma, semiconductors, electronics, rare earths, chemicals, textiles, and capital goods. MSMEs received focused support through a Rs 10,000 crore SME Growth Fund, equity assistance, and liquidity support via platforms like TReDS.


These measures are expected to create a positive impact on commodity markets through:

• Increased demand for raw materials.

• Higher trading volumes and liquidity.

• Better price realization for producers.

• Growth in industrial and metal commodities.

• Reduced import dependence in the long term.

• Strengthened domestic supply chains.


The budget also focused on agriculture and rural incomes by promoting high-value crops, fisheries, AI-enabled agricultural platforms, and expanding irrigation and reservoir infrastructure under the Bharat Vistar initiative. This is likely to boost agricultural commodity output and stability.


Trade Developments

International trade policies also strongly influence commodity markets. Recent discussions between India and the United States, involving reduced reciprocal tariffs and increased trade in energy, technology, and agricultural products, have created positive market sentiment. Additionally, talks aimed at ending the Russia–Ukraine war have raised hopes for stability in global energy and food supplies.


Market Reactions

Commodity markets are deeply interconnected with global economic, political, and financial systems. While domestic policies like India’s FY 2026–27 Budget provide strong support for industrial growth and agricultural development, global macroeconomic shifts, geopolitical tensions, and currency movements continue to play a dominant role. Overall, a stable and well-regulated commodity market ensures balanced growth, price stability, and sustainable economic development across nations.

(The writer is a Mumbai based finance expert. Views personal.)

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