Nägel mit Köpfen machen — to make nails with heads. To do a thing properly and completely.
Wenn schon, denn schon — if at all, then properly.
Ordnung ist das halbe Leben — order is half of life.
Ein Schnellschuss — a quick shot. A decision or product made at short notice, without thorough preparation, and the word is a criticism.
Vertrauen ist gut, Kontrolle ist besser, trust is good, control is better. It is a common German saying. It is usually attributed to Lenin. The saying does not appear in his works, and the attribution cannot be documented.
Nicht geschimpft ist gelobt genug — not scolded is praise enough. A magazine for mayors places the saying in Hesse, where it is often said in strong dialect. It uses the saying to describe how many bosses treat their staff.
Nix gsagt isch globt gnuag — nothing said is praise enough. The Swabian version. The Schwäbische Zeitung calls it a common cliché in Swabia.
German organisations give the technically competent function authority over how its work is done, and the phrase das ist Sache der Fachabteilung — that is the specialist department’s affair — settles a question by naming who owns it.
Plan ist Plan. Wir bleiben beim Plan. Das war so nicht geplant — that was not planned that way, said as an objection rather than as a description.
And the opposite: Wir fahren auf Sicht, we are driving by sight, used when the plan has been abandoned. It is never said with satisfaction.
German quality systems permit departure from a documented procedure where it is justified, assessed and recorded. Deviating is allowed. Deviating silently is not.
Der Änderungsantrag. A change to a German project plan goes through a formal request: what is to change, why, what it costs, what it moves, who approves. The plan can be changed. It cannot be drifted away from.
Betriebsferien. Many German companies close entirely for a fixed period, commonly in summer or between Christmas and New Year, with the works council agreeing the dates. Nobody is covering. Nobody is on call. The building is shut.
Der Projektstrukturplan. The work breakdown structure. A German project is decomposed into work packages, each with an owner, a deliverable, a duration and a number. The plan is not a list of tasks. It is a structure, and the numbering shows how each piece hangs off the whole.
Celebration-evening. The German word for the end of the working day, and there is no English equivalent because English has no word for the thing.
Ich mache Feierabend — I am making Feierabend — is a complete sentence and a complete explanation. The day’s work is over, and what follows is not called leisure or free time. It is called a celebration.