Mexican Business Tips

Tip 1
In Mexico, personal relationships are at the heart of most business dealings. Take the time to cultivate strong, long-term relationships.

Tip 2
Although the influence of foreign MNCs cannot be ignored, most indigenous Mexican companies will be hierarchical in structure.

Tip 3
People from the USA are North Americans rather than Americans. Mexicans are also Americans.

Tip 4
Key decisions are made by a small number of individuals at the top of the hierarchy. Ensure that you are dealing with the right people.

Tip 5
Make sure that you send people of the appropriate level of seniority to deal with Mexican colleagues. Do not insult people by sending very junior colleagues to work with older, more senior Mexican managers.

Tip 6
Managers tend to be instructional and are expected to give direct instructions to subordinates.

Tip 7
As in many hierarchical cultures, the boss-subordinate relationship is a reciprocal one. In exchange for loyalty, the boss takes a personal interest in the well-being of subordinates.

Tip 8
Try not to criticise others openly in meetings as this could be construed as an insult and have a very bad long-term impact on your relationships in Mexico.

Tip 9
Do not be surprised if standards of punctuality do not meet your expectations. Time is a flexible commodity and start and finish times should be viewed as estimates.

Tip 10
Agendas are not always used in meetings and if they are produced will not always be strictly followed.

Tip 11
Overt displays of emotion are not frowned upon – they show commitment and engagement.

Tip 12
Do not be surprised if small, sub-meetings develop within larger formal meetings.

Tip 13
English is widely spoken and many people speak it fluently. English is not, however, universally spoken and interpreters can be needed on occasion if you don’t speak Spanish.

Tip 14
Family names are often used in business circles amongst even quite close colleagues.

Tip 15
Formal titles such as Ingenerio (Engineer) are also commonly used in business.

Tip 16
People stand much closer to each other than many other cultures. Do not try to recreate your normal personal space as this could be seen as being unfriendly.

Tip 17
Although women play a less significant role at senior management level than in some other countries, visiting female managers should have few problems and will be treated with professional courtesy and respect.

Tip 18
It is important to be smartly dressed in both business and social situations.

Tip 19
Lunch is taken quite late at around 2:00pm and can last for a couple of hours.

Tip 20
Breakfast meetings are common in Mexico and should be seen as an important part of the relationship-building process.

Author

This country-specific business culture profile was written by Keith Warburton who is the founder of the cultural awareness training consultancy Global Business Culture. 

Global Business culture is a leading training provider in the fields of cross-cultural communication and global virtual team working.  We provide training to global corporations in live classroom-based formats, through webinars and also through our cultural awareness digital learning hub, Global Business Compass.

This World Business Culture profile is designed as an introduction to business culture in Mexico only and a more detailed understanding needs a more in-depth exploration which we can provide through our training and consultancy services.