Rewind 2014

And it’s another goaaaaaaaaaal,” roared the commentator on TV as Germany scored its third. Barely 15 minutes into the start of the semi-final against the prolific host team, the precision and discipline of the Germans made the Brazilian eleven look like a university team. By the time the two outfits were walking back to the stands at half time in the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2014, 26 billion people across the globe were in a state of utter disbelief. Surprise! Yes, surprise, shock, amazement and awe are just some of the adjectives one may use to describe how one experienced the roller coaster of year 2014. Through the screens of our iPads and LCDs, through the morning newspaper, and through newsfeeds on Facebook and Twitter, we saw a new world order emerge in front of our eyes. From the depths of a global pandemic to the heights of the successful Mars mission, the year that went by was nothing short of spectacular.

At the end of it, the events of 2014 taught us some key lessons—of discipline and bravery, of leadership, and most importantly of responsibility and humanity. 2014 was a year that displayed the power of the community and of a society characterized by the increasing influence of social. Whether it was BJP’s election campaign in India, upsets and triumphs of the FIFA World Cup, or Flipkart’s ‘Big Billion Day’, social influenced the world’s thinking around the events of the year like no other. Crowdfunding of the Aam Aadmi Party’s campaign, an emotional apology by Flipkart’s founders, and the global business community’s apathy on the Ebola pandemic was all captured and disseminated by social media.

2014 was also a year of exemplary leadership. The king and the king-maker—Modi and Amit Shah—showed just how effective partnerships can make invincible organizations. It’s a lesson not just of trust and mutual respect, but also of courage. Another example of courageous leadership came from the prolific coach, Louis van Gaal, who altered old formation paradigms, made unconventional substitutions and created aggressive game plans to lead the Dutch team to third place in the World Cup.

The world watched in horror as the events following the outbreak of Ebola unfurled, while at the same time marvelled at the bravery and humanity of those involved in relief and restoration. Besides gripping the world in a state of perennial mortal fear, the pandemic also brought forth some chilling facts about humanity in today’s world. Ebola raised a very central question for the global business community. Does the human responsibility of an organization stop just because an epidemic has hit the far reaches of West Africa? Should the premise of a company’s CSR be restricted to the immediate vicinity of business operations and its customer locations? Is this the fine line where the human from the business disintegrates?