Luck or method? What Mexico taught me about duplication
After Portugal, I kept hearing the same line: “You were lucky.” The proximity, the diaspora, the right timing. I didn’t argue. I opened Mexico. Twelve months later, the team reached CAP 100. Luck, it seems, copes well with jet lag.
The awkward question
I understand the comment. Portugal is a two-hour flight away. There’s a large Portuguese diaspora in France. I live there part of the time. From the outside, you might think the stars were aligned.
So I asked myself honestly: was it luck, or was it a method? Because the answer changes everything. Luck can’t be passed on. A method can.
Mexico was the perfect test. Another continent. Another time zone. Another work culture. No diaspora on my doorstep. If the same method worked there, then Portugal wasn’t a stroke of luck.
First level launched in December 2024. CAP 100 reached in December 2025. Same method. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
Do, get others to do, teach others to get others to do
To understand duplication, I need to go back to my start at iad. January 2013. After years in traditional agencies, I thought I knew how to sell. First year: a single sale. Enough to keep me humble.
It was along the way that I discovered what I was really building: a network. And that a network doesn’t rest on what you do, but on what others can do again without you.
Hence the method I apply everywhere. Do: you have to master the job yourself, otherwise nobody follows you. Get others to do: you support someone until they succeed in turn. Teach others to get others to do: you teach that person to support others. It’s the third step that creates duplication. Plenty of good managers master the first two. The third requires letting go.
In Mexico, I couldn’t do everything myself. The time difference saw to that. I had to teach others to get others to do from the very beginning.
The local partner, the cornerstone
Everything rests on one person: the French-speaking local partner at first level. Someone who knows the country from the inside and with whom I can work without a translator, either in the language or in the mindset.
With that partner, the framework is the same as in Portugal. A weekly check-in, at a fixed time, allowing for the time difference. A monthly video call with the whole team. A trip every quarter for face-to-face training. And opportunity presentations every week, without exception.
That framework looks rigid. Above all, it’s reassuring. When you’re thousands of kilometres away, consistency replaces presence. Your team knows when they’ll see you, when they can ask their questions, when they’ll be trained. They’re not waiting for a vague “I’ll pop over soon”.
And my role changes. I’m no longer the one doing. I’m the one training the partner to train others. It’s less visible, and far more powerful.
Duplicate without copying
Beware the trap. Duplicating isn’t photocopying. If I’d landed in Mexico with my translated French slides and my examples from Provence, I’d have gone home empty-handed.
In my book, « Réussir à l’international » (Succeeding Internationally), I write that what works locally can be duplicated provided you adapt it to the local culture. What doesn’t change: the rituals, the rhythm, the standards, the honesty about what the job demands. What does change: the words, the examples, the way you build trust, the time you take before talking business.
I let the partner set the tone. I asked questions before giving answers. And I accepted that some of my French certainties interested nobody over there.
Building an international team isn’t more complicated. It’s just a different method.
What CAP 100 really taught me
Consistency beats talent. The weeks when nothing moves are the ones that prepare the months when everything speeds up. If you stop the weekly presentations because “they’re not getting anywhere”, you’re sawing off the branch you’re sitting on.
The right partner is worth more than the right market. A buoyant market with a fragile partner runs out of steam. A strong partner finds solutions, even when the market is tough.
Finally, and this may be the most important point: this result doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to a team that applied a method seriously. All I did was set the framework and keep the rhythm. That’s precisely why it can be reproduced.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you build a team in Mexico from France?
- Yes, that’s what I did. The weekly check-in with the partner, the monthly video call and the quarterly trip keep the connection alive despite the distance and the time difference.
- What profile should you look for in a local partner?
- Someone French-speaking, rooted in the country, who wants to build and is willing to be trained to train others. Property experience helps, but consistency and a desire to pass things on matter more.
- How long before you see results?
- In Mexico, twelve months passed between launching the first level and reaching CAP 100. But I’m wary of promising timelines: every country and every partner has its own pace.
Your next playing field
If you’re reading this article, you probably already have an idea at the back of your mind. A country, a contact, an ambition. The good news is that you don’t need luck. You need a method and someone who has already put it to the test.
I’d be delighted to talk it over with you and see how this approach could apply to your project.