Crisis management - People's stories
#3. I never make mistakes
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1st Step
Discover
Explore THEe PUZZLE framework
Intro
Deep dive
FAQ
2nd Step
Choose
Witness how others have used THEe PUZZLE and inspire yourself
People's story
Thoughts
3rd Step
Apply
1. Pick one Puzzle piece
2. Apply the tip
3. Follow up on progress & results
4. Acknowledge positive impact
5. Repeat
Deep dive
FAQ
Introduction - People's stories
All People's stories are written in the 1st person to reinforce their impact.
While anonymity is preserved, all stories are inspired by real facts.
People's stories are examples, to feed you with concrete cases of how THEe PUZZLE has been used. They are not to tell you what to think, or absolute truth: they were created with the intent to illustrate how you can transform your life with THEe PUZZLE.
Each People’s story is presented in the following way:
Part 1. The authentic life experience
Part 2. What that same moment could have been, leveraging THEe PUZZLE
Part 3. Decoding the story through the lens of THEe PUZZLE framework
Part 1 - I make no mistake. Ever.
Even though I was not rich, I have gone through the best schools.
I always was the smart kid, for as long as I can remember.
Plus, I am also an extremely hard worker.
“Success comes with effort,” used to say my dad!
And so I made a career, working long days, travelling a lot, not seeing my children grow up. It takes sacrifices to get to the top: I did them all. Determined to do well, letting others enjoy the money I earned while I was working.
I have also never been the best manager.
I have high expectations. I push people. I make them grow. They do not always see it that way, but I have good intentions.
....Well, provided that they have a good brain!
I cannot stand mediocrity.
And I control everything.
I want people to think it through, and do it well.
Plus, I want them to care as much as I do. Which implies that there is no room for mistakes. Or at least, not at my level. I made it here because I am smarter than anybody else.
So when I got the phone call, I felt like I was in a science fiction movie.
All the oxygen vanished from my office in nanoseconds.
I could not hear.
I could not breathe. I could not speak.
I even seriously wondered for a few seconds if I was not paralysed and trapped within myself. Like in a horror movie.
What did they mean our product was collapsing?
What language were they speaking??
The little voice in my head was the only one I could hear. Louder than any other sound. “I told you,” it said, “that they would find out. I told you that you are not perfect. You make mistakes. You are like anybody else. Not better.”
I was in total distress.
I could see people coming into my office to have our first crisis meeting, as per the procedures in place. But I just could not process the information. I was looking at them, like a goldfish, with my mouth wide open.
My worst nightmare was coming to life. I had made a huge mistake by releasing these products too soon. I took a bet and I lost. My calculated risks did not work out.
I had made a mistake.
No one would forgive me.
Same as I did not forgive anyone under me who made a mistake.
And I would be remembered for it.
As “the one who made the mistake”.
That would be my legacy.
I sat at the meeting table, not sure how I got there.
And I saw all my collaborators looking at me, ready to take notes. And I looked at them. And all I could say was: “I don’t know what to do. I really don’t know what to do…. What should we do?!”
I felt like I was shouting, but most likely I was whispering. My voice was shaking. This was too much to take. All I wanted was to be left alone and cry.
“What should we do?”
I could not look up at my team. Obviously, they pitied me. The perfect one, falling on his sword in front of all of them.
What a shame.
I disgusted myself for being so weak.
Maybe I was too old… which thought did not help, on top of all the others!
I was not at the level.
I was not good enough.
I was letting everybody down.
And I was sure my collaborators were delighted about it. I did not treat them well all these years, now it was their turn. I was going to pay.
But more importantly, I felt horrible not being able to help them. My brain was letting me down at the moment when I needed it the most.
I was paralysed by stress.
I had already made a mistake. I could make another bad decision and make the whole thing even worse.
For the first time in my life, I was overwhelmed by the responsibilities.
I had convinced myself I was perfect, while I was only human.
CONGRATULATIONS
MYSELF
EGO
PRESENT
CONNECT
FILTER
COMPASS
PROTECTION
POLLUTION
RULES
MASTER
You have gained perspective how others have overcome their challenge leveraging THEe PUZZLE!
May it inspire you.
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Part 2 - I am as good as everyone: imperfect!
Even though I was not rich, I went to the best schools.
I was always the smart kid, for as long as I can remember.
And I have always been an extremely hard worker.
“Success comes with effort,” my dad used to say.
So I made a career.
Long days. Endless travel.
Missing birthdays, holidays, and moments with my kids.
It takes sacrifices to get to the top — I made them all.
The only part where I did not overachieve was management.
I was never the best manager.
I had high expectations.
I pushed people hard
I controlled everything. I wanted precision, logic, results.
So when that phone call came, it felt like the air vanished from the room.
I could not hear.
Could not breathe.
Could not speak.
I was in shock, trapped inside my own body!
What did they mean — our product was collapsing?
“You knew it”, whispered the voice I knew so well in my head. My own voice, the demanding one. The one that pushed me over and over, without failing to remind me that one way I would be caught. I was not good enough!
The panic was unbearable.
I had to regain a bit of control over myself.
I closed my eyes started counting and breathing in and out. 1, 2, 3 breath in; 1, 2, 3 breath out.
I don’t know how long I did it, probably a few minutes – but I kept going until the panic turned into fear.
I stood up and looked around me: there was no explosion in my office, no one was shouting at me. Everything looked perfectly normal. I was very aware that inside my head, it was absolutely not calm – but acknowledging that there was nothing real to think this way helped. The real world was not collapsing, only in my head.
Still breathing and walking in my office, I asked myself what emotion I needed to feel in that moment.
Being strong – is the answer that came right away.
When did I feel strong last? I remembered that walk in the French Alps on a beautiful sunny day. When the evening came, I was exhausted, and yet so happy I could make it. This is how I wanted to feel right now – proud and strong. I focused on that memory, and on the emotions I had. I was breathing in strong and proud, and breathing out panic and fear.
Is this way of thinking doing me any good? I questioned myself.
Yes. No doubt. No hesitation.
If it feels good for me and hurts no one, then let’s keep doing it then!
When the first person came into my office for the crisis meeting, I was a lot calmer.... but still not ready yet!! So I sent her back, asking her to come back in 10 minutes.
The panic was coming back. My worst nightmare was happening.
I was no better than anybody else.
What are you if you are not better than anybody else?
You’re a loser who gets fired, and nobody likes.
Is this true?
Well yes!!
Is this always true?
OK, well I guess there are always some exceptions....
Like?
Steve Jobs was fired and then called back. He was a horrible manager, but they still called him back! Or JK Rowlings had many publishers refuse Harry Potter before she had the immense success we know.
....So, if this is not always true, then flip it! What is the opposite sentence of being a loser who gets fired and nobody likes?
Being a winner who gets fired and nobody likes?
Or being a loser who is not fired and everyone likes?!
Both options made me smile.
And indeed that opened lots of possibilities....
What if, with my behavior, I was successful but nobody liked me and I would be fired?! What if I was already that loser??... That was not helpful thinking this way!!
What are you if you are a loser? I asked myself again.
You are alone, I thought. And that really frightened me.
Is this true?
Yes... but I can see where this is going!
Indeed – is this always true?!
I guess even homeless people have friends, or volunteers and associations helping them. So no, even in extreme cases it is not always true.
So the opposite sentence was that I could be a loser, and still have people around me?.... That thought lifted what felt like a ton on my shoulders.
I did not matter whether I had made a mistake or not. It did not matter whether I would be fired or not. I would always have people around me to value me.
And this time, when the team walked in – I was ready.
I did my best to speak the truth.
I am not the manager they dream of, but I am all what they got right now.
I had made a mistake.
Released the product too soon. Took a risk. Lost.
I would bear the consequences, but now was not the time.
Now I needed everyone on the bridge, to save the company’s reputation.
And I would do my best not to fail them again.
The words burned my throat, and freed me.
The perfectionist had fallen
They nodded.
They started talking.
Thinking.
Acting.
I was still recovering from the shock so I listened more than I told them what to do – for once. And to my surprise they had good ideas! Some I would not have thought of. I could also observe the power of the team, how one could build on the idea of another – leading to a better outcome.
For once, I could lead but I did not force myself to have all the answers.
I could just be myself.
And that felt good.
That day, I decided to stop act like the smartest in the room, and start be human. Also because it felt a lot more fun than being Mr Perfect!
Part 3 - THEe PUZZLE decoder
Let's decode this People's story with the lens of Thee Puzzle pieces.
MYSELF
EGO
PRESENT
When the phone call came, my entire sense of self collapsed just there. My body froze, and only my Ego was functioning and took immediate control. That voice — sharp, judgmental, demanding — had always been my inner driver. How dominant this single voice had become! It had pushed me through my entire life. And now it was turning against me. And that is when I could find a spark in me to reverse the pressure.
Continuing to be me and not being perfect was just unbearable. That was the moment I discovered I could also be kind. And funny.
Being able to be present helped me a lot in the moment, to stop the panic from rising. And to stop my Ego from becoming even stronger in my head! Acknowledging that nothing was real was paramount to come myself down.
CONNECT
FILTER
My filter had always been performance. All my choices aimed at it. Results and worth: was I succeeding or failing? was I better or weaker than others?
That filter, that way of thinking – was my entire life.
But that did not make it true. No one is perfect, as I learned the hard way. So why try?! Why not allow myself to be smart and to fail at times too?! Afterall, life is a lot easier when I think that way – then put this constant pressure on myself.
I also realized the value of what I needed to feel, versus had to feel or look like. How I could influence and change my emotional chemistry.
By filtering my thoughts and emotions, I could start choosing the ones that did me good.
COMPASS
PROTECTION
POLLUTION
My Compass had been set by fear of failure. For years, my protection strategy was control — controlling tasks, people, outcomes, emotions. It had worked, but at a cost. It isolated me. So when I finally found a little spark in me to push back on the panic, I realized it was the time to step up. I had to protect myself from an abusive Ego I had fed through the years. It was time to recalibrate.
I decided to stop hiding behind perfection. Admitting my mistake was horrible but it did not destroy me either, to my great surprise. It even grounded me, and made me stronger. I realized that strength comes from owning imperfection and still moving forward – not from seeking from an impossible perfection!
From there, I could protect myself from the toxic stories my Ego repeated — “you’re a loser,” “no one likes you,” “you’ll end up alone” — and see that they were not universal truths, just mental pollution.
RULES
MASTER
I had a simple credo: “Be the smartest in the room. Always.”
It had made me efficient, respected — and deeply alone.
That day, I decided to be different: “Be human first. Smart second. Or the other way around!”.
Thinking that way made me smile – and also made me aware that I was not smiling enough! The mistake I feared would destroy me became the very thing that rebuilt me — more authentic, more grounded, more alive!