When we first started working in Mexico, we had a group of people with us who had lived and worked in the US for a number of years. As they drifted off to other places and we had to hire new people, we chose to access the local universities to provide us with educated and talented employees. At least that was our plan. Prior to graduation in Mexico, students are required to spend some time in either a public or private organization to complete their 'practicas profesionales.' We hired young engineers who spent time with us as students, as well as those who had just graduated. We believed that we could train them to be a strong, committed management team with a special understanding of the processes and capabilities of our new company.
What we didn't fully appreciate, was the difficulty of transferring our 'gingo' cultural ideas of leadership and teamwork to a group of Mexican workers. After more than five years, we have to concede that a degree from a university doesn't guarantee an understanding of the meaning of responsibility, discipline, communication, authority, commitment or any other word that conjures the basic elements of work. Our expectations were based on our cultural paradigms and experiences gained from working in companies in the United States. Our new reality in Mexico is about as similar as walking on the moon. I don't really believe that the differences in expectations and outcomes are deliberate or intentional. People accept a job and get up every morning to come to work because they want to do a good job and get paid for it, no matter where they are in the world. At least that is true at first. Later, after personalities and conflicts come into play, there are probably more reasons to show up every day, or not, but getting paid is still number one. But once they get to work, how do they make themselves productive and valuable? When we interview and hire prospective candidates, we tell them that we are looking for people who will help us to build our new company. We explain that it is an opportunity to be creative and innovative. We discuss the challenge of starting from scratch to develop new processes and build new teams. We get excited about the prospects and show them our passionate belief in what we are doing. And in doing so, I think we probably scare the hell out of them. Their eyes start to glaze over and they begin to nod their heads in agreeement to anything. "Yes, yes," they say, as they accept our offer to build a dream. But when they arrive at work, they put their heads down and wait for someone to tell them what to do. So we explain to them and train them in the processes and procedures that already exist, fully expecting them to get as excited as we are and to take up the gauntlet of continuous improvement and world class ideas. We wait for them to charge ahead and make a glorious new contribution. And we wait. And then we wait some more. And when we ask them why they haven't done what we asked, why they haven't implemented the disciplines we laid out for them, why they haven't communicated the policies and procedures to all the people, where is their initiative, we just get that same glazed look we got when they told us they wanted the job.
It is disappointing. It is frustrating. It can sometimes be endearing. Sometimes it makes you want to cry. Sometimes it makes you laugh. But is it always part of the complex and diverse culture that is Mexico.
