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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)

The Illusion of Confidence

In the business world, confidence has become a kind of currency. The firm handshake, the unshakable tone, the assured smile — all are treated as signs of capability. Yet, not all confidence is real. Some of it is an illusion carefully built to hide uncertainty beneath the surface.


It is not uncommon to meet people who appear unshakably sure of themselves, but who crumble when their ideas are questioned. Others project calm strength in meetings but struggle to make decisions when no one is watching. This is not confidence; it is performance. And over time, the difference shows.


Real confidence cannot be faked for long. It is not loud, nor is it dependent on constant validation. It is rooted in a quiet understanding of one’s strengths, values, and limitations. It is the ability to remain composed when challenged and to respond with grace instead of defensiveness. This depth of confidence often distinguishes the respected leader from the merely visible one.


In the age of personal branding, the illusion of confidence is more dangerous than ever. Social media rewards appearances — perfect pictures, polished statements, and success stories with little mention of the struggle that built them. But people are growing wiser. They can sense the difference between authenticity and a well-rehearsed act. What once looked aspirational now often feels distant, even hollow.


A strong personal brand is not built on projection but on presence. It comes from knowing who you are, what you stand for, and how consistently you show up. The moment a person begins to rely on appearance more than essence, the cracks begin to show — in relationships, in leadership, and eventually, in credibility.


The truth is that confidence without character doesn’t hold. The world doesn’t need louder voices; it needs steadier ones. People follow leaders who make them feel seen, not small. They trust those who admit mistakes and still stand tall.


Many business owners and professionals mistake style for substance. They invest in looking confident instead of becoming confident. But the latter comes only through reflection and refinement — through working on how you communicate, how you behave under pressure, and how you treat people when there’s nothing to gain.


Confidence grows quietly, from within. It develops when your personal brand reflects your real self, not a curated version of it. When your actions align with your words, and your composure remains steady despite circumstances, that’s when confidence stops being a mask and becomes your natural state.


True personal branding is not about impressing others. It’s about expressing yourself clearly, sincerely, and consistently. And when done right, it turns your presence into influence — not because you tried to appear confident, but because you became trustworthy.


For every business owner and founder reading this, it’s worth asking: are you building your confidence or simply performing it? Because the difference decides how far your brand will go.


If this reflection resonates with you and you’re ready to strengthen not just your image but the substance behind it, I invite you to join my upcoming Signature Personal Branding Program for business owners and founders beginning on October 24. It’s an intimate, limited cohort designed to help you develop a personal brand that commands respect — not through appearance, but through authentic confidence.


Because real confidence isn’t performed — it’s lived. And if you’d like to begin this journey with a personal touch, you can also book a complimentary consultation callwith me to explore where your brand truly stands today — and how we can help you take it to the next level.



(The author is a personal branding expert. She has clients from 14+ countries.

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