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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)

Solo Travel: Understanding the World, Understanding Ourselves

Solo travel is a meaningful, empowering choice—embracing challenges, learning with curiosity, and giving oneself the rare gift of listening to one’s inner voice.

Madam Marie Curie once expressed a powerful truth: Nothing in life needs to be feared; it needs to be understood. Understanding dissolves fear, and awareness transforms uncertainty into strength.


I, too, believe fear grows in the absence of knowledge. When something is unknown—whether a fast-changing digital transformation, a personal health challenge, or global insecurity—we naturally become anxious or hesitant to travel. But once we study it, explore it, and recognise how it works, fear slowly loses its grip. Curiosity is always stronger than fear. I have worked through challenging situations, faced difficult attitudes, managed responsibilities at home, and lived through the pandemic. I continued because I understood what I was working for.


In the tourism industry, I witness this truth every day. The more we travel, the more we understand. When we stop exploring, we lose touch with the world around us. This lack of understanding quietly turns into fear, limiting our willingness to travel, discover, and embrace the beauty life offers in abundance.


That is why I encourage people to travel and broaden their horizons. When we understand the world, its people, and the situations unfolding around us, fear fades and confidence rises. The moment we step outside our homes, we meet the Creator’s magnificent work—mountains, rivers, forests, cultures, and countless wonders. Travel opens our eyes to this beauty and helps us experience life with courage, curiosity, and clarity.


To travel is important; how we travel is secondary. With family, with friends, for business—and of course, solo. Today, solo travel has become a meaningful and empowering choice. Solo travellers are unique. They embrace challenges, remain eager to learn, and take responsibility for their own journeys. Most importantly, they gift themselves the rare opportunity to listen to their inner voice.


A solo trip creates distance from the noise of daily routines that often make the mind stagnant. Even a short break of a few days can bring deep mental rejuvenation and restore emotional strength.


Solo travel is not new. For centuries, saints and seekers travelled alone in search of wisdom. Traders and explorers journeyed independently across distant lands. In modern times, our purpose has evolved. Today’s life is fast-paced, demanding, and mentally overwhelming. The mind tires far more quickly than the body. Solo travel offers clarity, balance, and calmness, allowing us to return to everyday life with a refreshed and peaceful spirit.


Why Solo Travel Matters

Solo travel is not about loneliness; it is about reconnecting with oneself. Some choose it for personal growth, while others travel alone because their circumstances require it. In both cases, the experience is deep, healing, and enriching.


Women Leading the Way

Among all solo travellers, more and more women today are choosing to plan their own journeys. Yet society still questions them: How will she travel? Where will she stay? Will she manage alone? These doubts often create hesitation and unnecessary pressure.


This is where our responsibility becomes meaningful. We take care of every detail—flight tickets, visas, local guides, internal transfers, centrally located hotels, and thoughtfully designed itineraries that help travellers begin each morning with confidence. Whether they explore with a guide or wander with a map in hand, they never need to worry because everything is planned with care.


Inspiring Solo Travellers

We have supported many travellers who journey alone for different reasons—pleasure, studies, celebrations, or professional commitments.


One long-time client pursuing her PhD often travels solo for research. We arrange knowledgeable local guides who support her academic work. She has explored India, Indonesia, and the USA—national parks, remote regions, and lesser-known destinations. Her 22-day solo journey, involving multiple flights and transfers, was fully supported by us. She returned deeply fulfilled and eager for her next exploration.


Another inspiring traveller is a professor who gifted herself a solo Europe tour for her 50th birthday. After travelling with her family earlier, she wanted to revisit certain regions at her own pace. We curated a meaningful 17-day itinerary covering Italy, the French Riviera, and Switzerland. With Eurail passes, guided tours, and seamless arrangements, she celebrated her milestone with joy and returned with renewed happiness.


A Trend Worth Welcoming

Travelling with loved ones will always be special. But solo travel is emerging as a strong, positive trend. It allows individuals to value themselves, appreciate their own company, and explore the world with independence and confidence.


We welcome this change with warmth. We are here to offer complete assistance, thoughtful arrangements, and personalised support to everyone who wishes to explore the world—on their own terms, at their own pace, and with complete peace of mind.


(The writer is a tourism professional and runs a company, Global Voyages. She could be contacted at goglobalvoyages@gmail.com. Views personal.)

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