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By:

Rahul Kulkarni

30 March 2025 at 3:32:54 pm

Reputation Is the Real Asset

Your reputation is the only KPI everyone tracks without data In a legacy MSME, people don’t follow strategy. They follow evidence of who you are, especially when things get messy. And the evidence doesn’t come from your PowerPoint. It comes from your pattern . Inherited seat:  People will give you initial respect. They’ll still test whether you’re consistent or emotional. Hired seat:  People will judge you faster. Your reputation starts at zero, and every week adds or subtracts. Promoted...

Reputation Is the Real Asset

Your reputation is the only KPI everyone tracks without data In a legacy MSME, people don’t follow strategy. They follow evidence of who you are, especially when things get messy. And the evidence doesn’t come from your PowerPoint. It comes from your pattern . Inherited seat:  People will give you initial respect. They’ll still test whether you’re consistent or emotional. Hired seat:  People will judge you faster. Your reputation starts at zero, and every week adds or subtracts. Promoted seat:  People already know you. Your challenge is different: will you become fair, or will you become “selective”? Different seats. Same truth: your reputation becomes your currency. Credit Test Let me explain this using something everyone understands. In every industrial area, there’s that one supplier who gives credit. Not because he is a charity. Because he knows who pays, who delays, and who creates drama. Two businesses can buy the same material at the same rate. But their terms will be different. One gets 30 days credit with a smile. The other gets “cash only”. Why? Reputation. And reputation is not a speech. It is a track record of small actions: paid on time, even when inconvenient didn’t play games didn’t shout when there was an issue escalated only when needed respected the supplier’s reality That’s how your team sees you too. Why this matters? Here is the war most incoming leaders lose: They think they need one big intervention, one big restructuring, one big system rollout, one big “strictness moment”. But legacy MSMEs don’t change because of one big moment. They change because people decide, over time, that you are predictable enough to follow. In game theory language, your leadership is not a one-time deal. It’s a “repeated game”. Meaning: you meet the same people again and again, and they adjust based on your last move. You don’t need to use the term. Just notice the reality: The same sales head will meet you 30 times. The same factory supervisor will face you in 20 small crises. The same old-guard person will test your tone repeatedly. The same vendor will watch if you stand by your word. In a repeated setting, people aren’t asking, “Is this decision logical?” They’re asking, “What kind of person is this leader? What happens if I trust them?” Robert Axelrod studied this through famous experiments on cooperation. His simple finding – again, in plain language – was: in repeated interactions, cooperation wins when it is backed by consistent, proportionate enforcement. Not softness. Not aggression. Consistency. Leadership Mistake Most incoming leaders swing between two bad extremes: Extreme 1: The nice leader avoids confrontation adjusts every rule for every person “lets it go” to maintain harmony Result: people like you, but don’t follow you. Extreme 2: The strict leader overreacts to first failure makes examples publicly escalates fast Result: compliance for a week, and then smarter avoidance, politics, and silence. Both extremes destroy reputation. Because reputation is built on one thing: people can predict your response. Think of it like a supplier again: If a customer delays once, he doesn’t ban them for life. But he also doesn’t keep giving full credit like nothing happened. He adjusts terms. Calmly. That calm adjustment is the whole point. In an MSME, the leader who wins is not the one who “wins arguments”. It’s the one who builds a reputation for: fairness consistency low drama clear consequences quick forgiveness when behavior improves This is what makes people cooperate without fear. Field Test For the next 30 days, try this rule: Cooperate first + proportional response. Meaning: Start with trust. Give people a clean first chance. When someone breaks the deal, respond but don’t explode. Make the response proportional and visible. Not humiliating. Just clear. If they correct behavior, reset. Don’t keep punishing forever. (The author is a co-founder at PPS Consulting. He is a business transformation consultant. He could be reached at rahul@ppsconsulting.biz.)

Knives out in legislature

Updated: Mar 21, 2025

Disha Salian

Mumbai: Death of celebrity manager Disha Salian in 2020 once again rocked the Maharashtra legislature on Thursday. While cabinet ministers Nitesh Rane and Shambhuraj Desai demanded that Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray be arrested in the case, BJP MLA Amit Satam in the assembly and another BJP member Chitra Wagh in the council demanded that the report of SIT to probe Salian’s death be made public.


Incidentally, amidst repeated disruptions in both the houses, some members from the treasury benches were seen speaking in favour of Aditya Thackeray, while Shiv Sena (UBT) members like Adv Anil Parab were seen supporting the BJP members’ demand that the report of the SIT probe be made public. In addition, there were allegations and counter allegations and personal accusations among members from the treasury and opposition benches which led to heated debate on occasions.


The opposition termed the attempts from the treasury benches to link Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray’s name in the case, as a ‘conspiracy’.


“I think this matter has gone to the court. We have no idea what he (Disha’s father) has said, but Aaditya Thackeray is a mature leader, a young leader. The Bharatiya Janata Party is conspiring to defame him by putting pressure on him. We don’t need to answer to this conspiracy. The court will answer,” Ambadas Danve said.


Earlier in the day, when the house gathered for the business, Minister of State for Home appraised the assembly of the status in this case. “SIT has been formed to probe in the case. Their report has not been received as yet. However, the government shall act according to directives from the court,” the minister told the house.


Another BJP minister Nitesh Rane, however, said that since Satish Salian has levelled allegations against an MVA minister, that leader be treated like a common person and that everybody should be treated equally before the law. Shiv Sena minister Shambhuraj Desai too supported the demand. “Since the allegations are grave, the person in question should be immediately arrested and the case be investigated,” he said.


Later, while speaking to media in the legislature premises, Rane asked Uddhav Thackeray to come clean on the issue. “If they say that we are politicizing the issue, Uddhav Thackeray should also tell the people why he had called, not just once but twice, to the then union minister Narayan Rane urging him to save his son?” Rane said.


He also accused the opposition of shying away from coming clean on the issue. “If they feel that we are not telling the truth, they should say so in the house. But they are shying away from doing so. Bhaskar Jadhav, who is always aggressive, was nowhere to be seen when this issue came up in the house. Sunil Prabhu too escaped the house under the pretext of a phone call. I challenge them to say that whatever I said on the issue is wrong,” Rane said.


He also said that Aditya Thackeray should resign on moral grounds till his name is cleared in the case.


BJP MLA Amit Satam demanded that the details of the SIT probe be made public so that the people would know if the probe is headed in right direction.


Interestingly, while the ruling parties were targeting the opposition in the case, senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar surprised all with his unexpected support to Thackerays. “I do not have any evidences in the case. But if her father has made any fresh allegations that needs to be investigated thoroughly. The assembly can discuss the issue at length tomorrow. In the meanwhile, members like Rane, who seem to have some evidences in the case should hand them over to the investigating agencies and help the probe,” he told the house.


Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Gaikwad and Sheetal Mhatre too toed the line and demanded that more and more evidences should come forth.


Similarly, when members of treasury benches were pushing for revealing the details of the probe till date to the public, Shiv Sena (UBT) member Anil Parab supported the demand. “Doing that shall conclusively prove the innocence of Aditya Thackeray,” he said.

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