Mexico Is About to Elect Their First Female President. Here Are 5 Lessons I Learned From Her as an Entrepreneur.

Claudia Sheinbaum has defied what is expected. She's a Jewish woman with a Ph.D. in energy engineering, but is expected to become the first female president of Mexico, a largely Catholic country (Lesson 1).

Sheinbaum’s has a strong lead in the polls ahead of the election this Sunday.

Why? Many believe it is rooted in her endorsement by Mexico’s popular nationalist leader, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Lesson 2), who has mentored Sheinbaum’s career over the past two decades (Lesson 3).

She has given him years of loyalty in return (Lesson 4).

This relationship was made public a while ago, but has been heightened as Sheinbaum's time to run for president came closer. At a symbolic at a Mexico City restaurant last year, Sheinbaum accepted an eagle-headed ceremonial baton of command from López Obrador at a gathering of his ruling party, Movement of National Regeneration (Lesson 5).

It was a gesture of endorsement by a president whose approval ratings have never fallen below 60%.

“He gave me the baton, and the authority as well,” the 61-year-old Sheinbaum said during a recent TV appearance.

Although many of us in business try to pretend we are not in politics, this could not be further from the truth, and many of the mechanisms that work in politics just mirror what happens in marketing.

So what can we learn from Claudia Sheinbaum so we might be able to accomplish what seems impossible?

1. Don't let being different stop you, let it fuel you to work twice as hard
2. Have a mentor who is on a path you would want to be on at the rate you want to be going on it
3. Play the long game
4. Be loyal to the people who are helping you
5. Accept help when it is given

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