A new acquaintance recommended this eye-opening book “Why Mexican Don’t Drink Molson” by Andrea Mandel-Campbell. Initially I thought this book is something about nonsensical things shared by Mexican and Canadians as the title suggests but it’s hardly amusing. The author takes you to a roller coaster ride of the misadventures of not a few Canadian companies and their brands including, as you might guessed, Molson and their reluctance to play a much-bigger role in the global arena. Just to give an example, I just recently found out that the Black Berry is manufactured by a Canadian company, Research in Motion. As I turn page after page of the book, I cannot help but agree with the author’s findings about the glaring realities that I desperately try to understand about Canadian business and more so of the culture that drives it. Canadian companies, as I understand from the book, are myopic and prefer to concentrate their business within the safety confines of the country and if they decide to venture out of their comfort zone, there is the reliable big brother, the US. Reasons: other countries are too far, different business ethics and values, they do not speak English. WTF!!! This is a classic example of the adage, “When the US sneezes, Canada catches cold”. It is more evident by the sad state of the auto industry in Ontario.
There were Canadian companies that tried to do business other than the US but they were ill-equipped costing them millions of dollars in the process. To quote an article from the book: “Arrogance is ignorance. Eduardo Khurfan describes it as ‘the Achilles heels of Canadians’. The fact that a country is poor does not mean that its businesspeople and government officials are not sophisticated. As a general rule, the elite in developing countries are wealthier, better educated and much more worldly than the average Canadian businessperson. ‘You cannot overestimate your skills and come with a patronizing attitude,’ says Klurfan. ‘Brazilian businesspeople are very smart, very intelligent. They survived hyperinflations, maneuvering in difficult economic situations that would drown most Canadians.’”
However, there is hope, according to the author, Canada can still play a significant role in the world economy but it will take an effective government leadership to turn us around. Canada was compared to Australia when years ago, the latter was behind Canada in terms of GDP but now it’s the reverse. “Australia also has political leadership in the persona of John Howard, an unapologetic free marketer who has not shied away from confronting politically delicate reforms head-on. As he noted in an interview with the Financial Times: ‘I have a profound revulsion for political correctness.’” I agree with him, the government should stop providing concessions with certain groups and start thinking about the welfare of the country as a whole. The author also suggested for companies to invest on Canadian immigrants as they have the necessary skills and cultural foundation to get a global perspective and compete internationally. Seriously, these companies do not realize the wealth of skills and knowledge these new and professional immigrants can bring for them to become more competitive not only in the local economy but the world.
I recommend this book for those who want to understand the frustrations of living here in Canada and eventually to challenge the System. Very good read!
