Mexicans & Americans: Cracking the Cultural Code

Whether negotiating a delivery date, launching a local franchise, or renting a car in Mexico City, speaking the language and knowing the rules of business is not enough. In any culture where yes can mean no--or sometimes maybe--even giants like Wal-Mart and IBM can make costly mistakes. Mexicans & Americans gets to the heart of our differences and lays the groundwork for cultural fluency. Here is a humorous and insightful firsthand look at how to succeed in working with Mexicans-on either side of the border. Steeped in the richness of Mexican culture and history, Ned Crouch helps us understand the most critical elements that determine what works and what doesn't when Mexicans and Americans come together in business: our different views of time, of space, and our construction and use of language. He debunks the manana stereotype and offers specific advice on how to cross the cultural divide that separates our views on hierarchy, authority, class, and gender. From Guadalajara to Indianapolis, real business examples and dozens of personal dialogs from waiters and cab drivers to lawyers, engineers, and CEOs demonstrate common Mexican and American mindsets. Ned Crouch draws on a lifetime of experience to show how Mexicans and American gringos can engage each other and survive the experience in fact, be enriched by it!