A few weeks ago, I experienced a personal situation that could easily be described as a minor crisis.
EOn a Bogotá-Mexico flight, my wallet with my passport disappeared inside the plane. When I arrived at immigration, I simply didn't have it. After four hours of searching by Avianca ground staff, it never appeared. I couldn't enter the country and was denied entry.
After six hours in the airport's “little room,” dozens of calls for help, and a long night without answers, the next morning at dawn I was returning to Bogotá through the inadmissible persons area.
Being in a foreign country without documents generates a chain of micro-moments of stress, uncertainty, and anguish. However, when it was all over, I understood something that surprised me: personal crises and business crises are much more alike than we think.
Stay calm
I was surprised by my calmness. My true mindfulness. My ability to surrender. At no point did I lose my center. I knew, with a very deep certainty, that everything was going to be okay. And it was.
Something similar happens in corporate crises. When a company enters a critical situation, the most important asset is a cool head. Impulsive decisions only amplify the problem. The organizations that navigate crises best are those capable of analyzing calmly even under pressure.
Calm doesn't resolve the crisis, but it does allow for better decision-making.
The Power of Networks
Within minutes, I had people in different countries worried about my situation, from Australia to Guatemala. Friends, colleagues, and members of networks like Entrepreneurs Organization trying to help.
Crises test the relational capital we have built. The same happens with companies. Organizations that have cultivated strong relationships with allies, customers, authorities, or the media have more tools to face complex moments.
Relationships aren't built during a crisis. They're built much earlier.
Don't force the inevitable
I called the consul and several people whom I thought could help. But I quickly understood that insisting on remaining in Mexico was not going to change reality. I had to accept the situation and let the process run its course.
The same thing happens in business crises. Many companies try to force the narrative or control all variables. But not everything is under control. Part of good crisis management is knowing when to act and when to accept that certain processes must run their course while mitigating damages.
Kindness and vulnerability
Throughout the whole process I was always kind, and I also showed vulnerability in the face of the situation.
That generated empathy. Both the police and immigration officers were deeply human and looked for ways to help.
When companies face crises with arrogance or denial, the problem multiplies. When they respond with transparency and humility, the conversation changes.
Less guilt, more action
At first, I blamed myself. I thought I had left it on the plane out of carelessness. Then I learned that someone had stolen it. I mentally replayed the scene, trying to understand what had happened.
But soon I understood that blaming myself or anyone else didn't change the situation.
The same thing happens in business crises. Identifying responsibilities is important, but getting stuck on blame rarely solves the problem. The priority should always be to act, contain, and protect.
Crises, whether personal or corporate, always pull us out of our comfort zone. But they also remind us of something powerful: what truly defines a crisis isn't what happens, but how we choose to go through it.
And sometimes, even from a small migration room, one remembers that serenity, relationships, and honesty remain the best strategies.
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