Crossing the Cultural Border: Leading Radical Change with Respect

By Karl Mentzel

This high tech semiconductor chip manufacturing plant on the border of California and Mexico was in serious trouble. Its reputation had been tarnished, its image seriously damaged, and its future uncertain due to the plants lingering quality and delivery issues. The corporation was on the verge of losing one of their top customers due to the Mexican plants performance. Change was needed and urgency was the order for the day!

This true story describes how the author, a born and bred U.S. citizen, was cast into a new unfamiliar and uncomfortable environment in Mexico with the task of leading the operational transformation of a large Mexican maquiladora plant, whose output controlled the majority of the companys revenue.

Without knowing the language, customs, or traditions, Karl Mentzel shares his real life experiences over a three-year period in Mexicali, Mexico, a city of one million people, as he is confronted with the challenges and differences of two countries and cultures.

As the only U.S. resident citizen in a plant of over 2,000 Mexican national employees, he describes his teams extraordinary journey that led them from a marginally performing plant to one that achieved national recognition as the countrys top maquiladora, after being selected to receive the highly coveted National Export Award personally from Mexicos President, Vicente Fox.

Throughout the book, he draws upon the values instilled in his upbringing and from his past experiences and mentors and describes how they so significantly influenced his leadership in this extremely challenging role. Mr. Mentzel conveys the disciplined and radical changes and initiatives that were launched to enable the successful transformation, while maintaining respect for the teams cultural values and differences.

Crossing the Cultural Border is a must read for any business person entering a new country or culture to effectively lead and transform organizations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 13, 2009
• ISBN: 9781467051378

Karl Mentzel

Karl Mentzel possesses an extensive manufacturing background in some of todays most highly recognized and respected global companies serving the government, consumer, semiconductor, and transportation electronics industries. His professional career has spanned over 30 years with most recent responsibilities as Vice President of Operations for multiple manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Mexico. Mr. Mentzels broad experience has included new plant and operations start-ups, lean sigma plant integration, and organization re-designs. In 2004, he accepted on behalf of the Mexicali, Mexico plant, the prestigious National Export Award from Mexico President, Vicente Fox. In the same year, he was also named Distinguished Executive of the Year for the City of Mexicali, Mexico. He graduated with high honors with a bachelors degree in production/industrial operations from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas

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©2009 Karl Mentzel. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 4/29/2009

ISBN: 978-1-4389-1342-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4389-1343-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4670-5137-8 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009900187

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Author Bio Photo ©Arturo Fong

Jacket Design ©David Quintanilla

Front Cover Author Photo ©Lori Calderón

Except where otherwise noted, all other photos and images are courtesy of the author.

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PREFACE

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This book is lovingly dedicated to my family: Debra, Kelly, Grant, and Mom

God bless our troops,

God bless our freedom,

God bless the U.S.A.!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

I want to thank the numerous people who, in so many ways, contributed to the successful experiences described in my book, Crossing the Cultural Border.

First of all, my sincere appreciation to my family, my wife Debra, our daughter Kelly, and our son Grant, for all your support, patience, and sacrifices throughout my career. I was noticeably missing during many key events in your lives, but you always understood and supported me. To my wife and son, special thanks for your extraordinary sacrifice during my three years in Mexicali, Mexico, especially during that difficult period of relocation and separation. You managed your lives, mostly in my absence, in a new unfamiliar city, not to mention the difficulty of Grant entering his influential senior year in a new high school. I know that this was an extremely tough adjustment for both of you. My heartfelt gratitude to Deb, for your continuous and unselfish devotion and support as a wife and mother, and for your tremendous encouragement, love, and understanding.

I love you all!

To my mother and late father, I give my thanks to you for your never-ending and unconditional love and support. You raised and taught me the most important beliefs and values of life. Even though we didn’t always have a lot, with your love, determination, and strong faith, we always felt like we did. You sacrificed so much so that the futures of your children could be brighter. Mom, thank you for continuing to push and encourage me in my youth to do more and achieve more, and for helping me to understand the value of higher education, hard honest work, and doing the right thing!

To my Mexicali Dream Team, you are the reason for the successes described in this book. Your incredible hard work, determination, commitment to success, and desire to win, made me proud to be your coach. Thank you (in alphabetical order): Raul Angulo, Alberto Arce, Rafael Chavez, Samuel Chin, Marian Clancy, Carlos Encinas, Joaquin Jimenez, Octavio Lopez, Karena Martinez, Patricia Martinez, Jorge Melendez, Edgar Mendivil, Manuel Montoya, Sergio Morales, Oscar Sanchez, Luis Solis, Nestor Vanegas, Roger Vazquez, Jesus Velarde, and Maria Yescas.

To Tom Stringfellow, Bill Kyle, and the late Pete Joseph: Thank you for mentoring me in my early career. Your distinctive style of leadership inspired trust and garnered respect. Your thoughtful encouragement and recognition motivated me to constantly strive to accomplish more and helped establish the framework for my future leadership roles.

To Laura Lujan, Dalia De Los Santos, Marian Clancy, Patricia Martinez, and Maria Yescas: You paved the way for respect and encouragement for females in leadership roles, especially in a traditionally male-dominated Hispanic and Mexican culture. Serving as role models for others, you proved through your demonstrated performance, determination, and persistence that true leadership is more powerful than gender bias.

To my faithful and dedicated book reviewers: My deep appreciation for your unselfish help and critique. Your feedback and input was invaluable and very much appreciated. Thank you (in alphabetical order): Raul Angulo, Karen Bangs, Marian and Rick Clancy, Dwight Decker, Cheryl Doty, Arturo and Liz Leyva, Karena Martinez, Debra Mentzel, Andrea Morales, Barbara Nieto, Walt Reep, Thomas Schiller, Linda Smith, Tom and Marianne Stringfellow, and Vianey Valdes.

Special thanks to:

Raul Angulo, for your trusted and valued advice, consultation, and friendship throughout and following my assignment in Mexicali. You always provided me with honest and unbiased opinions that were never supported by personal gain.

Karena Martinez, for your tremendous support and belief in me. Your never-ending persistence and continuous encouragement were truly instrumental in my personal and professional accomplishments in Mexicali. Above all, I am most grateful for the special friendship we have developed over the years and continue to enjoy today.

Cheryl Doty, for doing all that you do! You are uniquely special in so many ways and have done so much for me throughout my life and career. Thanks Sis!

To the wonderful support and experiences I gained from the outstanding team members of Texas Instruments, Conexant Systems Inc., and Skyworks Solutions Inc. You influenced me in so many ways throughout my career and made me proud to be a member of our company. The superb training and learning I received, the relationships I established, and the values and principles instilled, helped bolster my leadership skills and provided me with cherished memories I will treasure forever.

During my assignment in Mexicali, Mexico, I met many people and established numerous contacts and valued friendships inside the plant and externally within the community. You always included me, treated me with the utmost professionalism and respect, and made me feel like I was a member of your family. You unselfishly gave of your time and talents and never asked for anything in return. Your city is your people. I truly understand why you are proud to be called Cachanillas.

Thank You All!

PREFACE 

As the author of Crossing the Cultural Border, I don’t bring to you the knowledge of a PhD in Behavioral Science or Operations Management, nor am I associated with a prestigious multi-national consulting firm. My book is not supported by mountains of research, interviews, surveys, or theories.

My credentials are simply summed up in one word… experience. My book is real. My experiences are real. The incidents described in Crossing the Cultural Border are ones that I lived and breathed every day for three intense years, supported by an extensive thirty-year manufacturing career. They incorporate a broad spectrum of personal emotions ranging from self doubt, anxiety, and apprehension to those of significant pride, excitement, and joy!

My recollections of the day that I arrived in Mexicali, Mexico to assume the leadership of this large semiconductor manufacturing plant are still so vivid. I wondered then what I had gotten myself into and how I could possibly make a positive difference in a culture of which I was so unfamiliar. How could I, a foreigner, gain the trust from a plant of over 2,000 Mexican employees? And add to this:

•   The plant was in serious operating trouble; and consequently, the corporation was on the verge of losing one of its top customers.

•   The production output of the plant controlled the majority of the corporation’s revenue.

•   I had been placed into this new assignment with no previous knowledge or experience with the technology, products, or processes of the plant.

•   The all-Mexican plant now had no Plant Manager and I had arrived as the first U.S. leader to assume the reins in over 15 years.

•   I could not speak Spanish and knew little about the Mexican culture.

The corporate expectations for urgent results and positive change were high and the pressure was intense. How could I do this? At that time I had no idea.

Miraculously, the values and experiences of my past kicked in as we worked together as a team to create a high performing organization built upon mutual respect and trust. United by two simplistic top level priorities, we were guided by seven key tenets that defined our focus and, most importantly, how we would lead and operate as a team.

We then embarked upon our journey of radical improvement to eradicate the prolonged quality issues plaguing the plant, while restoring critical business and customer relationships. Throughout this journey, our actions and our experiences would demonstrate and reflect our new leadership philosophy.

Authority, through positional rank, was exchanged for leadership influence and respect. Entitlement was substituted with ownership, accountability, and commitment. And lastly, fear and intimidation were replaced with empowered teams working collaboratively in a fun, rewarding, and energetic environment. We had become a team that was in the game together, win or lose; but there was no question but that we were out to win!

Throughout the book, I describe the various approaches and key initiatives that were launched that enabled the transformation. Clearly at the forefront were two key drivers that established the basis for our breakthrough improvements, Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing. At the foundation, however, was a much stronger underlying key success factor that is later revealed.

Intermixed throughout this real life transformation account are personal anecdotes describing humorous and embarrassing episodes associated with my efforts to blend in with the Mexican culture. I also share the personal challenges and anxieties that I faced with my family during this stressful and difficult time of sacrifice and separation.

Crossing the Cultural Border describes the various observations, events, initiatives, and challenges that occurred over a three-year period that transformed a plant that was performing marginally to one that was honored by receiving national recognition personally from Mexico President, Vicente Fox. It is about effective, sustainable change leadership that focuses on transforming work philosophies, while respecting and preserving family values, traditions, and time honored customs that shape a country’s culture.

It is my hope that the experiences and techniques that I share in my book will assist any business leader entering a new country or culture. Whether you use it as a how to manual, leadership guide, or a combination of both, I wish you a successful and rewarding experience as you cross over into your new environment.

Karl Mentzel

Author; Crossing the Cultural Border

CHAPTER 1 

HOW I GOT "THERE

Well there I was, sitting in front of my computer and staring around my new expansive office in Mexicali, Mexico. I had been used to some nice offices in the past, but this one was double the size of most of them and equipped with its own sofa, private bathroom, and personal assistant’s office outside the entrance. Additionally it had a stocked refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, and adjoining conference room with a private entrance.

I was getting ready for my first full day of work in Mexico as the new Jefe (Boss) of this large, state of the art, semiconductor manufacturing plant south of California’s border. I had arrived early that May 2001 morning, around 6:30am, to get acclimated to my new environment before my busy planned schedule for the day began. I was staying at a local hotel in the city. My first night, prior to starting my new assignment, as you could imagine, was filled with enormous anxiety and little sleep. I had been placed in this responsibility as one of the few chosen to lead the plant in its 32-year history and the first U.S. leader in over 15 years. The previous long term Mexican national Plant Manager had vacated the position on a Friday; and I was introduced to my new all Mexican staff, as their new leader, by my boss, the

Vice President of Operations, on the following Monday. This surprise announcement created enormous shock waves across the plant. Why was the only Jefe they had known for more than 15 years, now gone, and without a formal farewell? And more importantly, why was his replacement a foreigner from the U.S., a full fledged gringo that did not speak Spanish, and someone that only a few had seen before in the past? Why was a Mexican national not selected to run the all-Mexican employee plant? Did the U.S. based company located in southern California, no longer trust the top leader to be Mexican? What did this mean for the plant, and for the jobs and security of the 2,400 employees and their families?

If I was experiencing high anxiety, they couldn’t have felt much differently. My fears not only included the job, but also those of working and living in a foreign country, where I did not know the culture, the customs, or the language. Add to this, that my family was still in El Paso, Texas. We had just completed building our dream home in El Paso a year before, a home that we (mostly my wife) custom designed, built, and decorated. Now, we would be selling and leaving it to relocate to San Diego as soon as we could find a suitable place to live. Housing prices in southern California were a tremendous shock to us; almost triple that of El Paso, with not nearly the quality, amenities, or style. So, although this new assignment with my company was a promotion for me, the added compensation did not come close to offsetting the new cost of living requirements in California. If that were not enough, my son was entering his senior year in high school in the fall. He would be starting this extremely important year of his high school career in a new state, a new area, and a new school, with all new students and teachers and no friends. I left my wife and son alone in El Paso to figure most of this out and would only see them on some of the weekends until they moved to San Diego. Then I would be driving 145 miles from Mexicali to San Diego on Friday evening and returning again early Monday morning each week.

Before we progress, it would probably be appropriate to provide a little more background and history about me, and what had previously transpired that brought me to where I was on that sunny spring day in Mexicali, Mexico.

I consider myself a proud Texan, despite the fact that I was born in Colorado. Having only spent one year of my life there, my parents decided they did not want to experience another southern Colorado winter, so they packed up and headed to the sunny and much warmer Texas climate. They eventually settled in the small north Texas town of Sherman.

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There, I grew up, completed my schooling through high school and junior college, became engaged, and married at the age of 21. My Mom and Dad owned and operated a small family appliance business that they bought when I was 10 years old. They eventually turned it into an exclusive Maytag franchise dealership, and so I grew up helping in the family business, after school, on weekends, and during the summer. I certainly did not always enjoy working there, but it kept me out of

trouble and helped me understand the value of hard, honest work. We had no other employees so my parents took care of all the sales, service, delivery, bookkeeping, merchandising, etc. My older brother and I assisted with the service and deliveries, as well as other chores in the business.

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My Dad, older brother, and me next to the family business truck

We experienced some very tough times, but the love we shared as a family kept us strong and determined. My parents were intense believers in selling a quality product; that’s why they chose Maytag for their business. They constantly preached quality, quality, and more quality! To this day, I believe it was because these principles were constantly reinforced, that they became a key part of my working career’s foundation for operational excellence.

I worked hard through high school and received good grades. I was rather shy, not into athletics, and seldom went out with friends to school dances, movies, or even football games. Partly, this was because I worked on weekends, but mostly because of my quiet and reserved demeanor. So it was somewhat surprising that I was named Mr. 9th Grade, Sophomore class President, and graduated as President of my Senior class.

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Senior class President-early leadership experience! Photo courtesy of ©Sherman Ex-Students Association Museum

One thing that I did know is that I enjoyed leading and organizing, skills that would continue to be honed and developed through the years to come. I continued my formal education, entering a local junior college. We were not in a financial capacity to fund my college education, so I continued to work in the family business to support these expenses.

About this time, Texas Instruments (TI), a multi-national Dallas-based electronics company, built a new, large plant in Sherman. My fiancé’s sister worked in Human Resources and with her help, I was able to get a full-time job with benefits, starting out at the lowest job grade and pay in the plant. Even so, I was elated to work at a company with such a great reputation. After working there a year, I would receive educational assistance to help support my continuing college education expenses. I was working full time and going to school at night on a part-time basis. Given my low seniority with the company, I was asked to do a lot of grunt jobs that no one else wanted to do. As I think back on those times, a few key events surfaced concerning safety that would greatly influence my future focus in this crucial area.

I had just started working at TI in the process area of the transformer department. This area was responsible for building the transformers, then encapsulating them with epoxy to be used in missile guidance systems. The epoxy, as I recall, was either black or white and was a thick gooey substance in a large vat. The completed transformers would be lined up in open wire trays to be dipped into the epoxy to fully cover them, and then placed into ovens to cure. After this, the trays were also covered with the residual epoxy and had to be cleaned prior to the next load. The cleaning process involved hanging the trays on a hook and lowering them into a large vapor degreaser that used an industrial solvent called trichloroethylene. This chemical would be heated until it boiled, then the hot vapors created would strip away and dissolve the epoxy on the trays. This seemed to be a fairly effective process for cleaning the trays. However, while transporting the trays from the epoxy vat to the ovens, the dripping epoxy on the transformers and trays would land on the floor. During the day, as pedestrian traffic continued through the area, the sticky substance would accumulate and become smeared across the concrete floor. At the end of the day, the epoxy buildup on the floor had to be cleaned. Now, no one really wanted this job because it involved, not only lots of strenuous mopping, but required use of a solvent to remove the buildup. As you would guess, we would utilize the same solvent that cleaned the trays, trichloroethylene. As one of the new employees, I was included in the dreaded daily duty. As I recall, we would dip