Mexico: No Network for Old Hands

The mystery of the missing Mexican Country Head.

End of the Story:

I’m one of those “Old China Hands” who made my career networking with expat management teams in Shanghai. If I could get in front of the Country Head of a Fortune 500, then I stood a good chance of making a deal.

In Mexico, your Old China Hand networking skills have to be re-purposed. A few finance or marketing companies here use the title “Country Head”, but it’s not common for manufacturing companies. The Country Head is the CEO in Detroit or Irving, TX.

Intro: Mexico 2024 isn’t China 2004.

The modern Mexican manufacturing industry was fathered by Detroit in the 1970s and has developed as an extension of Detroit’s central production chain. North American org charts and operational teams include Mexican managers and workers without distinction. This is new for some “Old China Hands” who are just discovering Mexico.

Many Chinese operations had an SBU (special business unit) vibe, even if they had formal reporting lines direct to HQ in the US or Europe. The situation in Mexico is the opposite. Your Mexican team isn’t some dotted line leading off to another page with explanatory notes about holding company structure. They are on the main org chart and the project management resource list. They are loyal to HQ, and they expect HQ to be loyal to them - in terms of benefits, training, and career development.

Mexico Runs on Standard Management Time

In China, the main skill of many an expat manager was building ties to the Country Head of the MNC you wanted to work with. I spent most of my time in Shanghai in finance and procurement. By the time I left in 2012, management systems in China were more or less autonomous for most international companies - which included having their own Country Heads. It probably started in banking – many short-term fixes did. In Mexico, you have different HR and cultural issues.

Westerners managed like China was on the very edge of the world. We all blamed culture and language, but it was mostly the time zone difference. There was a built-in 12-hour lag for any conversation I had with NY. In Mexico, I’m on Mountain Central right between New York and California time – it makes a BIG difference.

Your Mexican operation is the part of your regular operation that happens to be in Mexico. They are in your time zone, speak your language (operations-geek English), and are working on the same projects. And your high-impact managers expect to be running those projects…and much more.

Auto Industry Sets the Tone for Mexican Manufacturing

Most of Mexico's manufacturing industries take their cues from the auto industry, which turned the "maquiladora", or Mexican manufacturing model, into an art form. The practices and processes that the US auto industry developed in the 70s became the backbone of NAFTA and then the USMCA.

The good news is that your new Mexican colleagues share your values and ethics, consider themselves part of your team, and are probably the most loyal employees your company has, globally.

The bad news – they expect to be included and recognized. They expect to be paid, sure. But they always want to head teams, receive training and development, go to trade shows and industry events, AND of course, they want the big promotions and the US postings.

No Network for Old Hands

If your job was actually running a factory in China, then you're likely to be very comfortable in Mexico. The systems they use here are as close to identical to US standards as possible.

If your job was networking among senior management in Shanghai or Beijing, then your life is liable to be a little more challenging.

When I was starting out in Taipei and then in Shanghai, my network of expat managers was both business school and group therapy. My whole social life was built around Chamber of Commerce happy hours, corporate events, and various government or university receptions. We expats were a boozy, awkward group who were always a little nervous about our status in China. That drew us together into tight, talky little cliques that shared a lot.

If you’re engaging with the expat communities of Mexico, prepare for a lot of retirement talk - mostly about healthcare (awful), but some mention of inflation (horrible), and weather (terrible).

If you are looking for decision-makers at major multinationals, you’ll be calling on them in exotic locales like Irving, TX, Detroit, MI, and San Diego, CA. Trade shows are important here. Well – the actual trade shows are in South Carolina and Illinois. The level of management you’re used to working with is home in their gated communities in Texas and Michigan.

But look on the bright side. With all the Chinese companies setting up shop and building out their networks across Mexico, you might find someone to practice your guanxi-building skills with after all.

Final Word: Culture counts

Pay attention to local cultures. Mexican managers are comfortably aligned with US HQ culture. In China, everyone was afraid of their best engineers leaving to take the IP and start a competing company. In Mexico, everyone is afraid that their best managers will go to the competition if they get passed over for a promotion or leadership role.

#nearshoring #mexico business