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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.)

Deepfakes: The Age of Digital Deception

If left unchecked, deepfakes pose a direct threat to public trust—the social foundation for media, institutions, and law.

In today’s world, where social media clips can go viral within seconds, a troubling question arises: What happens when the video you are watching is not genuine, yet appears completely convincing? Deepfakes represent one of the most advanced applications of artificial intelligence. They rely on sophisticated models such as Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) and newer diffusion techniques, harnessing powerful tools that are capable of producing astonishingly realistic videos, images, or even audio recordings. These creations can make it seem as though a person said or did something that never actually happened, blurring the line between reality and fabrication.


While the technology feels new, its roots stretch back more than two decades. In 1997, researchers developed a system called Video Rewrite that could synchronise lip movements with different audio tracks. In 2016, a project called Face2Face took things further by allowing real-time manipulation of facial expressions. A year later, Synthesising Obama stunned viewers by generating a convincing video of the former U.S. President saying scripted lines he never spoke. But it was in the 2020s that deepfakes became truly mainstream, powered by easy-to-use software and open-source AI models.


Several high-profile deepfake cases have recently emerged in India. One of the discussed cases in India is that of BJP leader Manoj Tiwari, who in 2020 had a deepfake created to clone his voice and facial expressions. Another case was in May 2024; a young man named Yash Bhavsar was arrested in Madhya Pradesh for creating inappropriate content images of women using deepfake technology. Two months later, in July 2025, Assam's Pratim Bora was caught using AI to generate explicit images of an ex-classmate, which he sold online through a subscription model. In July 2024, the Bombay High Court delivered a landmark ruling in Arijit Singh vs Codible Ventures, ordering an interim injunction against unauthorised voice cloning using AI. Another case is Ankur Warikoo v. John Doe (Deepfake Identity Misuse), Delhi High Court (May 2025). These are two genuine High Court judgements in India related to deepfake misuse, where courts granted injunctions recognising the threat posed by AI-generated fake content, especially relating to the misuse of personality rights:


However, as of now, the Honourable Supreme Court hasn’t yet passed a landmark judgment specifically on deepfake content. Nevertheless, the legal framework for digital evidence requires strict authentication for all electronic content.


In response to these challenges, both the legal system and the technology sector are moving quickly. One major area of focus has been developing ways to detect and block deepfakes. Zero Defend Security, a company of Bengaluru, launched Vastav.AI, a cloud-based platform that helps analyse and detect deepfakes with up to 99% accuracy. Another breakthrough came with FaceShield, a tool that protects images from being used in deepfake generation. Indian institutions like IISc Bengaluru and IIIT Hyderabad are working on tools that can detect subtle signs of fakery, such as unnatural eye blinks, mismatched lighting, or inconsistencies in speech rhythm. Globally, tech giants like Meta and Google are also building AI to detect AI, creating what’s called “deepfake detectors”.


Yet even with national efforts, the threat is global in scale. International bodies like INTERPOL, the UN’s ITU, and UNODC are now pushing for global standards in watermarking and AI verification, warning that deepfakes are already being linked to child exploitation, online defamation, and election interference. There is an INTERPOL “Beyond Illusions” (2024) report that stresses deepfake threats. Experts like Dr Danielle Citron, Dr Robert Chesney, and Dr Hao Li have all raised red flags about how deepfakes could erode public trust. Prof. Ponnurangam Kumaraguru, at IIT-Hyderabad (Department of AI), is known for projects on deepfake detection and misinformation, especially in Indian contexts. Another renowned scientist is Dr Sumeet Agarwal (IIT Delhi). Works in deep learning, adversarial attacks, and generative AI.


In conclusion, deepfakes are blurring the silver line between truth and fiction at an alarming pace. The results can be almost indistinguishable from reality, and the consequences are starting to show up in real lives, real crimes, and real courtrooms.


(Dr. Kumar is a retired IPS officer and forensic advisor to the Assam government and Shiwani Phukan is a student of National Forensic University, Guwahati. Views personal.)

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