While change is inevitable in processes, it succeeds not by force, but by thoughtful design.
A few years ago, I worked with a founder in Chennai, Rajesh, who ran a thriving furniture manufacturing business. Orders were booming, margins were healthy, and expansion felt inevitable. But when I walked through his factory, the signs of stress were everywhere. Every team followed its own version of the process. Delivery timelines kept slipping. Workarounds had become the norm.
“I’ve told them ten times to use the new system,” Rajesh said. “But somehow, things always go back to how they were.”
That moment has stayed with me—because it’s so familiar.
In fast-growing businesses, change is often introduced like a rulebook thrown into a speeding car. A new tool, a new workflow, a new Key Performance Indicator (KPI), but little changes. The dashboards go half-used, processes revert, founders get frustrated, and execution stalls.
It’s not because people don’t want to change. It’s because change is being pushed, not designed.
The Illusion of Change
This reminds me of Amit, a textile exporter in Surat. He doubled his revenue in two years—but also doubled his stress. Orders were delayed, invoices were missed, and the team was stretched thin.
Like many founders, he did the logical thing: he added tools-a shared drive, a task board, and an automation suite. But a few months in, things weren’t smoother—they were noisier. His team were jumping between apps, approvals were still sitting in inboxes, and he was still dealing with bottlenecks.
Last week, Rashmi shared the story of Arvind, who finally embraced automation and freed up his evenings. But as she often reminds me, “It’s not the tool, it’s the structure around it.”
And that’s the real gap.
Change Sticks When It’s Designed
I’ve seen this across companies. In Dallas, a logistics business had invested in a sophisticated shipment tracking platform. However, the teams kept defaulting to WhatsApp and manual logs. When I asked why, they said, “It’s easier this way.”
They weren’t resisting change. They were resisting ambiguity.
People don’t avoid better systems. They avoid unclear systems. We’re wired to stick with the familiar, even when it’s inefficient because it feels safer than fumbling through the unknown.
What Does That Look Like?
At PPS, we’ve seen that high-velocity teams do three things differently when introducing change:
1. They create visible rhythms, not hidden rules.
In one consulting business, just adding a Monday decision review shifted how projects moved. No more waiting for approvals, and everyone knew what was expected and by when.
2. They assign ownership before rollout.
A software firm we supported reduced process drop-offs by 30%—not by improving the tool, but by clearly defining who owned what. When a change has a name next to it, it moves.
3. They make the system easier than the shortcut.
In Coimbatore, a textile company saw real adoption only after we simplified their dashboard to show just three things: orders pending, issues flagged, and action needed today. Suddenly, people wanted to use it—because it worked for them.
The Real Work Is in the Design
Every founder I’ve worked with wants their business to run better. They invest in tools, people, and plans. But the difference between teams that move fast and those that get stuck isn’t ambition. It’s how they design for change.
Change that’s forced creates fatigue. Change that’s designed builds momentum.
And history shows us the same lesson.
Chhatrapati Shivaji didn’t scale his empire by copying what existed
He designed systems that matched the terrain, his people, and the mission. From revenue collection to fort strategy, his structures were built, not imposed. They worked because they were born of context.
Final Takeaway
So before you push that new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) or roll out another tool, ask yourself:
• Is there a rhythm that supports it?
• Is ownership clear?
• Does it make life easier—or difficult?
Rashmi showed us that automation can unlock time. But if we want that time to fuel growth, we must create environments where change feels natural, not disruptive.
Scaling is not about doing more. It’s about doing better—by design.
(The author is a co-founder at PPS Consulting. He is a business transformation consultant. He could be reached at rahul@ppsconsulting.biz.)
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