Der Teufel steckt im Detail — the devil is in the detail, and in German it is a warning rather than an observation.
Ins Detail gehen — to go into the detail, said approvingly of a discussion that is doing its job.
Gründlich — going to the ground of a thing, the standard German word of praise for work.
Schlampig, oberflächlich, husch-husch — sloppy, superficial, hurry-hurry. Three dismissals, all of work that stopped before the detail.
Gut Ding will Weile haben — a good thing wants time.
Eile mit Weile — hurry with leisure, a German rendering of festina lente.
Übers Knie brechen — to break something over the knee. The German phrase for forcing a hasty resolution, and it names what happens to the thing.
Erst mal eine Nacht drüber schlafen — sleep a night over it first. Said in German meetings, and acted on.
Eine Lösung, mit der beide leben können — a solution both can live with. The standard German formulation, and the verb is leben, to live.
Sich zusammenraufen — to scuffle one’s way together. A rough process with a settled ending.
Auf einen gemeinsamen Nenner kommen — to arrive at a common denominator.
Unter einen Hut bringen — to bring under one hat, said of reconciling competing interests.
Etwas hochkochen lassen — to let something boil up. Said of a person who allowed a conflict to escalate, and it is an accusation.
Das schaukelt sich hoch — it rocks itself up, a conflict building through mutual response.
Öl ins Feuer gießen — to pour oil on the fire.
Die Wogen glätten — to smooth the waves, the approving description of what a good manager does.
The German meeting record is not a list of decisions. A proper Protokoll records what was raised, what was argued, who objected and on what grounds, and then what was resolved.
It is circulated, corrected, and approved at the next meeting as its own agenda item.
Six months later the question is not only what was decided but why. The document is built to answer the second.
The end does not sanctify the means.
The original proverb runs the other way, and most languages cite it as a cynical observation about how the world works. German most often cites it negated, as a rule.
Vier-Augen-Prinzip. The four-eyes principle. Two people must see and approve, independently, before something takes effect.
It is written into German banking, pharmaceutical, administrative and corporate procedure, and it has a name of its own, which tells you it is a thing people invoke rather than a practice they happen to follow.
It does not check whether the answer is right. It checks that more than one route reached it.
That cannot be calculated. A German objection to a proposal, and it is a refusal rather than a complaint. What is being said is that the thing cannot be priced, and therefore cannot be undertaken.
Pi times thumb. The German phrase for a rough estimate.
It is almost always said with a small apology attached, flagging that what follows was not properly derived. The speaker marks their own method as inadequate before anyone else can.
German organisations name a stellvertretender Leiter for most positions of responsibility, with the substitution written into the job description. Advancement runs through a stated apprenticeship to the role, in public, before the role is held.