The Germans prefer consulting over serving. To consult the customer is to work auf Augenhöhe, at eye-level. The German people instinctively reject any form of master-slave business relationship.
The German customer prefers a supplier, consultant, vendor who insists on a business relationship auf Augenhöhe. Germans don’t want to be served, they want to be consulted, by an expert, at eye-level. Examples
In Germany two parties enter into a dialogue about matching a customer’s problem with a supplier’s solution. Once the what has been agreed upon, there is limited customer input about the how. Examples
The German customer expects the supplier to complete the requested task correctly and expertly, within schedule and budget. The boundary conditions are negotiated and held to as precisely as possible. Germans, however, will sacrifice schedule and budget in order to receive what they ordered. Examples
Germans view conflicts as fundamentally negative. Escalation should be an option of last resort. And since effective leadership is expected to anticipate conflicts, those which have “become public” are a sign of leadership failure. Examples
In Germany a conflict resolution is successful when accepted by all parties involved. There is little tolerance for solutions that create winners and losers. Germans aim for mutually beneficial outcomes. Examples