Crisis management - People's stories
#4. I am too unexperienced
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People's story
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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 am too young and unexperienced
I was still young when my boss called me into his office.
Asked me to close the door.
And informed me about a huge scandal that was about to hit the company hard – and even harder if we were not to handle this well.
“You have thousands of jobs that will depend on the decisions you make in the next hours,” he said. “And I know you’re not ready for it.”
…When I think about it, I am not sure he said those last words.
But the way he looked at me spoke for itself.
I was too young to have such a burden on my shoulders.
He had hired me for the job thinking there would be no-event crises to manage. And here we were, with the biggest of all!
And I was in charge.
He added: “As you very well know, nobody can be told except the CEO, you, and me. So I expect you to figure it all out without the usual support of your team. You will tell them what to do in due course. Until then, you figure it all out while I manage my part. Meet again in 2 hours!”
I was just standing there, with my big eyes open.
I did not know what to say.
Even worse, I did not know what to do!! I
had no clue!! “I am too young” – that sentence kept going in circles in my head! This was way too much responsibility: I did not sign up for this.
People would be unemployed because of the inexperienced decisions I would make. A hundred-year-old brand would be permanently damaged because of the bad decisions I would make.
Instead of going back to my office, I went to the bathroom.
I don’t know how I managed to exit my boss’s office and walk there. All I wanted was to run to a place to hide. But instead, I composed myself a face and pretended everything was normal.
I locked the door, sat down and cried.
I was not the right person for this crisis, and I knew it.
We all knew it.
I was not good enough.
I was not old enough.
I had no experience, and I had no help.
I was all alone, with that huge burden on my shoulders. I could write a book about how the best job ever turned into the worst nightmare in a blink!
I felt so isolated.
And each time I managed to get myself together, thinking I should head back to my office, I started crying again!
And that was meant to be secret!!
Everyone would see there was something wrong. Everyone would also get confirmation that I was young and emotional – everything they always suspected. I was just not credible! Nobody would listen to me!
The more I told myself to be strong, to get up, to fight for the company - the more powerless I felt.
I did not know where to start.
And I had no one I could ask for help.
I felt so bad it even crossed my mind that maybe my hair had turned grey!
It felt horrible being locked in there, and at the same time, I could not do otherwise.
I just was not capable.
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 the best imperfect human
I was still young when my boss called me into his office.
He asked me to close the door.
Then he told me about a huge scandal that was about to hit the company hard – and even harder if we did not handle it well.
“You have thousands of jobs depending on the decisions you will make in the next hours,” he said. “And I know you’re not ready for it.”
When I think about it now, I am not even sure he said those last words… but the way he looked at me said everything. And that was definitely how I viewed myself!
I was too young to carry such a burden.
I could not be trusted with such an immense task.
He added: “As you know, nobody can be told except the CEO, you, and me. Figure it out without your team. You will tell them in due course. Until then, you handle it. Meet again in two hours.”
I just stood there.
Should I tell him that it was too much?
I knew that if I were to speak the truth, I would start crying. And the little pride left in me made me nod and turn around.
I had no idea what to do.
“I’m too young,” I kept repeating in my head. “I’ll ruin everything.”
I needed to be alone, so I walked to the bathroom.
I locked the door and sat down.
And then I started crying.
I was not the right person for this crisis.
Not old enough. Not experienced enough. Not good enough.
I was completely alone with that weight on my shoulders.
“Poor me, poor me,” I heard myself saying ironically.
Well, no “poor me,” I thought! I have a job, a good life, a nice apartment. There is no “poor me.”
Then why am I crying in a bathroom at the office?
Because it’s a lot to take!
Yes, and…? Is this not what I wanted when I took the job?
Yes… but I had not realized the weight of all these responsibilities. If I get it wrong, many people will be unemployed.
Do I really think I have that much power in the company? Do I really think the CEO will take what I prepare and blindly apply it word for word?
I was hired because I knew the job.
I clearly was not prepared for all the emotions that blow up in your face the moment the crisis occurs — a stress nuclear bomb!
But I did know what to do. This is what I trained for.
So step up, I told myself – and show them.
Show them you can be trusted.
Show them you are the right person for the job.
I was not sure yet which path to take: remain in this bathroom pitying myself, or step up for myself?
It was time to decide: what would I want to be remembered for in this crisis?
Be part of the fight and do my best, or be a quitter?
And that decision was quick to make: I am not giving up that easily!
I needed to release the pressure, and crying helped.
But now was the time to bring out the hero in myself.
That same voice that had destabilized me in the first place was now pulling me up — with the same strength and determination. “Stay with me,” I told myself. And that internal dialogue started sounding funny, as I pictured my Ego smiling when it answered, “I am you! I’m not going anywhere!”
I wiped the tears away and went back to my desk.
I sat down and took a deep breath.
And I started working.
Shortly before the deadline, I could feel the stress rising again.
I was once more putting too much pressure on myself.
I closed my eyes, and while staying conscious of my breathing, I visualized a bubble around me. The air from my breathing was expanding this bubble. I made it as wide as the length of my arms, so I would be fully comfortable moving inside it.
I gave it a blue colour, the same nice blue you see under the ocean when the sun hits. Inside my bubble, everything was calm. It also acted like a shield: nothing could go wrong inside it. And I added the strength of my internal hero to it.
This time I felt ready.
I had done my best and put together a draft proposal.
And I had a safe space around me — room to breathe, to be calm, to feel safe and protected from the emotional chaos this crisis had triggered in me.
I was able to stand in front of my boss with a proposal. My voice was shaking when I told him I had done my best, but I managed not to cry. And the more I walked him through my plan, the more assertive I became.
Set aside the job done, I felt really proud of myself for stepping up and being able to cope with the biggest storm of emotions I had ever experienced.
I was still young and inexperienced, but I had gained something that would never leave me: now I knew for sure I had that fighter in me.
And that felt good.
Part 3 -
Let's decode this People's story with the lens of Thee Puzzle pieces.
MYSELF
EGO
PRESENT
At first, I was completely overtaken by panic. My Ego had grabbed the wheel and was shouting orders which were not helpful! “You’re too young! You’ll ruin everything! You’re not good enough!” That voice was so strong I was taken by it!
But as I sat crying alone in that bathroom, another part of me began to speak — the rebel! It gave me the strength to turn my Ego over, so it would become an Allie rather than put me down. And with that card in hand, I was able to focus and deliver my work.
CONNECT
FILTER
Until that day, my mental filter was really afraid of not being good enough. But as I made the conscious choice to step up for myself and demonstrate to everyone, including myself, that I was worth the job and up to the challenge – in that moment I changed.
I decided to connect to the strength I had inside. To set up limits, so I could function in that ocean of emotions. Put aside the ones not helpful in the focus, and focus. Bring up the feelings I needed, whether strength or calm.
COMPASS
PROTECTION
POLLUTION
Before, my internal Compass was pointing toward external validation — being seen as competent, calm, and in control. That direction had always guided my actions, but it was also polluted by fear of judgment and failure. In that moment of crisis, I felt caged. And that is when I realized that to survive, I had to step up. Set limits to my Ego, and be very clear that it was here to help and not to blame. I had to protect myself against...my own self! And that worked: my Ego adapted and gave me all the strength I needed. I could not let all these negative thoughts pollute me and put me down: there was no time for it!
I was also able to come myself down when I created my “bubble.” That visualization was more than a mental exercise — it was another form of protection. It allowed me to define an inner space where I could be safe, calm, and fully present. It was not about shutting the world out but about keeping its chaos from taking over my inner state. That felt like a different kind of strength — one that came from within, not from how others perceived me.
RULES
MASTER
For most of my life, I believe that competence came with age – and that young people are only listened so much to. And that implied that I had very little credibility!
But that day, locked in the bathroom, I decided to change my belief. To give myself a change. To acknowledge that young people, meaning I, could be competent too. And that was very liberating. It gave me a way to act.
By engaging with my Ego, I also became the master of my inner system again. I learned that leadership does not start with knowing everything. It starts with knowing yourself.
When I walked into that meeting, I was no longer pretending to be the perfect young manager. I was simply being me – because I knew that was enough.