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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)

‘Who wants Sunetra’s chair’, Tatkare slams merger push

Mumbai: The simmering tension between the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) boiled over on Thursday, as NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) State President Sunil Tatkare launched a scathing counter-attack against the Sharad Pawar-led faction. Though he didn’t directly dismissed the growing speculations and pressure regarding "merger" of the two groups, Tatkare questioned the timing and intent behind these overtures, hinting at a power grab disguised as unity.


In a fiery interview with a Marathi news channel, Tatkare made it clear that the faction, now rallying behind newly appointed Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, is in no mood to budge or surrender its independent identity.


"Merger for Unity or for Power?"

The controversy stems from recent aggressive posturing by the Sharad Pawar faction (NCP-SP), which has reportedly been floating the idea of a merger to "unite the family and party" following the tragic demise of Ajit Pawar. However, Tatkare sees a sinister design in this narrative.


“Why has the issue of a merger suddenly become the focal point? Hat is it being raked up repeatedly?” Tatkare asked during the interview and went further, posing a direct and uncomfortable question to the rival camp: “I want to ask those propagating this merger — is it because someone else wants to become the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra instead of Sunetra Pawar?”


Tatkare’s comments are seen as a veiled reference to aspirants within the NCP (SP) who might be eyeing the Deputy CM post should a merger reshuffle the political equations in the state.


The Swearing-In Controversy

The verbal duel comes against the backdrop of Sharad Pawar’s recent comments that added fuel to the fire. The patriarch had publicly stated that he was "not aware" of Sunetra Pawar’s swearing-in ceremony until it happened, distancing himself from the decision made by the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance. Another NCP(SP) leader, while stressing Ajit Pawar’s willingness in favour of the merger, had said that he would announce the details of various meetings held with Ajit Pawar discussing details of merger.


While retorting to the claim, Tatkare said that he and his other party colleagues should reply to it once the details are announced by the leader.


He also made it clear that the NCP choosing its leader after the death of Ajit Pawar and consequently Sunetra Pawar taking oath as Deputy Chief Minister is completely unrelated to the issue of merger of the two party factions.


When asked whether he is in favor of merger, Tatkare declined to comment. “I shall not answer to such hypothetical questions. Certainly not when the NCP is reorganizing itself under the leadership of Sunetra Pawar with a certain political focus,” Tatkare said and added, “whenever such an issue comes before us in future the party should collectively decide on it.”


The interview was also an attempt by Tatkare to quell unrest within his own ranks. With the passing of Ajit Pawar, questions were raised about the leadership capabilities of Praful Patel, Tatkare, and others, and whether they would return to the senior Pawar’s fold.


Political Implications

Tatkare’s outburst has drawn a clear battle line. While Sharad Pawar’s strategy appears to be one of emotional consolidation—using the tragedy to bring the flock back home—the Ajit Pawar faction is countering with political pragmatism. By framing the merger as a ploy to unseat a female Deputy CM, Tatkare has added a complex layer to the narrative, making it difficult for the opposition to push the "unity" agenda without looking like power-hungry opportunists.


As the state gears up for the budget session, the possibility of a truce seems remote. The "Merger" has now officially turned into a standoff.

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