It has been a shocking year for communicators. We have witnessed a stunning reversal of power between mainstream and social media: The ability to go direct to end users of information through social channels radically disrupted the mainstream news agenda.

I was invited to be one of 20 CEOs who are profiled in a new book by Peter Vanham, a contributor to Forbes and the Financial Times, called Before I Was CEO. It was the first time I really opened up with a journalist about my childhood and my career in the family business.

Editors note: The following are some of Edelman's insights from the book.