Pretty much everyone around the world wants 2020 to be wiped off from their memories, and rightly so. In our modern history, this was the first crisis this world faced since the World-Wars that touched the lives of every citizen of this planet. Yes, the extent of impact varied significantly – the rich-poor chasm only grew wider; many lost their loved ones while others were spared that pain; and surprisingly many developing nations responded far better than their more developed counterparts. But nevertheless, everyone will carry experiences that will be passed down to the future generations as ‘once-in-a-lifetime’. And that’s the reason why I want 2020 to be forever etched in my memory, for it provided lifelong lessons so rich, humbling and inspiring that whenever the chips are down in the future, all you would need to do is look back at this year and gain strength and confidence from these learnings.
- Resilience: When the lockdown hit us unawares, business operations could not just come to a standstill. We had properties to be managed, customers to be taken care of and the organization to be fortified. And all of that while ensuring the safety of everyone around us. It was like trying to fix punctured tyres while the car had to keep moving. And this was not just our business – I hear the same sentiments across the board from my friends and peers across industries. So collectively, the entire corporate world threw counter-attacking punches and the steely resolve saw us overcome the shock with confidence. Crisis tests strength of character, and there was abundance of that in display. “Never under-estimate the human spirit of grit and gumption!“
- Adaptability: If there is one thing that we all found out about our own selves during this year, it surely will have to be our ability to adapt when crisis hits home. Getting so many things done remotely which we probably never thought was possible, beginning to unleash the real power of digital for our organisations by breaking long-believed myths, transforming consumer habits that took years to change in a matter of months – in fact, the list was a stark reminder of theory of evolution and how man has evolved over generations through adapting to the changing environment. “We often underrate our ability to adapt, even when it’s the very reason we exist today!“
- Balance: This is one of my favourites, equally applicable to our professional and personal lives. And this year just showed us how much valuable this was in enabling us to not just defend against the crisis, but also aggressively counter attack where needed. Most had to strictly control or curtail costs, and yet invest intelligently with an eye on the long run; meeting the interests and needs of all stakeholders from customers to suppliers to shareholders to staff, even when they may be at odds, and without compromising the happiness of the family; leading with a cool head, warm heart and strong guts – every single day, each one of us was a magician juggling multiple balls in the air while riding a cycle on a rope string high…and we did it with a smile! “Crisis can galvanize us into building better balance in the way we approach life!“
- Compassion: When the pandemic started, it was said that everyone is suffering and no one is spared, from prime ministers to world champions to corporate honchos. But very soon, the sad reality became self-evident that it was the under-privileged across the globe that suffered much more than the others, and we Indians only had to look outside our homes to see the plight of those less fortunate than us. And so, while the papers chose to cover mostly the horrors of the pandemic, there were also so many stories of kindness, of giving and of sharing that warmed our hearts and restored our faith in humanity. Compassion was amply in the forefront by how organisations, including ours, came out in force to selflessly support communities around them and how individuals took up the mantle to feed hungry mouths and give their time, money and resources to lift spirits all around. “We all got reminded that compassion is a thread that binds humanity together!“
- Gratitude: End of the day, this is probably the most appropriate word that summarizes my learning and experience from the year. The feeling of thankfulness and the realization of being more fortunate than many around us is what will always keep us humble and help us put things in perspective not just when the next crisis hits our lives, but also during every single moment where we are tempted to exclaim, ‘oh god, why me!’ “It often takes a crisis to remind us that gratitude is key to peace…and how unfortunate is that!“
Among all these learnings, 2020 reinforced the fact that man is a social animal – we thrive in a community, we relish relationships, we crave for that human connection and our wanderlust to explore the world makes us unique. And I am thus quite sure that whatever ‘new normal’ Covid may have brought in, it will surely not dent any of these fundamental human traits that make us who we are!
So yes, I do eagerly look forward to 2021, but not at the expense of trying to forget 2020 – for it taught me to try to be a better-balanced leader, a more patient father, a more compassionate citizen and a humbler human. And for that I remain forever grateful to 2020, the year like no other so far.
Keep the faith!
Vinz's World 