Trust Archives - Page 12 of 22 - understand-culture

Pure Wine and the Flower

jemandem reinen Wein einschenken — to pour someone pure wine. Duden: to tell someone the full truth, even when it is unpleasant.

etwas durch die Blume sagen — to say something through the flower, to hint at it. Duden lists durch die Blume among the synonyms of andeutungsweise, by way of a hint, next to vage, unklar and verschwommen, vague, unclear and blurred.

unverblümt — without flowers, open and blunt

um den heißen Brei herumreden — to talk around the hot porridge, to avoid the point

schönreden — to talk something pretty, to gloss over it

Criticizing the Work

Section 193 of the Criminal Code covers tadelnde Urteile über wissenschaftliche, künstlerische oder gewerbliche Leistungen, critical judgments about scientific, artistic or commercial work. It also covers Vorhaltungen und Rügen der Vorgesetzten gegen ihre Untergebenen, reproaches and reprimands by superiors to their subordinates. Such statements are punishable as an insult only if the form of the statement or the circumstances show an insult. So a manager who tells an employee plainly that the work is poor is, as a rule, not punishable for insult, unless the form or the circumstances of the remark make it insulting.

The Matter Comes First

The German psychologist Sylvia Schroll-Machl describes Sachorientierung, orientation toward the matter, as a German cultural standard. In 2004, in a box headed Wir Deutschen, we Germans, she wrote: Die Sache ist uns wichtiger als die Person. The matter is more important to us than the person. Wir können durchaus mit jemandem auf sachlicher Ebene zusammenarbeiten, obwohl wir uns persönlich nicht besonders mögen. We can certainly work with someone on a factual level, even though we do not particularly like each other personally. In the same series she warns that thinking this alone is enough for working together is der häufigste deutsche Irrtum, the most common German mistake.

Criticize the Treatment, Not the Doctor

The professional code of the Medical Association of Saxony-Anhalt says: Ärzte haben sich untereinander kollegial zu verhalten. Doctors must behave collegially toward one another. The code then says what this excludes. Unsachliche Kritik an der Behandlungsweise oder dem beruflichen Wissen eines Arztes sowie herabsetzende Äußerungen über dessen Person sind berufswidrig. Unfactual criticism of a doctor’s treatment or professional knowledge, and disparaging remarks about the doctor as a person, violate professional rules. The association’s journal added in 2012 that factual criticism of a colleague’s treatment remains allowed.

You Know Me

On 1 September 2013 Angela Merkel faced her challenger Peer Steinbrück in the televised debate before the federal election. During the debate she said: Sie kennen mich ja … You know me, after all. A Belgian newspaper reported that she added that Germany had had four good years. In surveys published by Statista, about 81 percent called her competent in 2013. In 2021, after eight more years in office, almost 80 percent still did.

{‘url’: ‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39I0P6_hF_I’, ‘title’: ‘Wahl 2013 – Das TV-Duell am 01.09.2013’, ‘publisher’: ‘phoenix’, ‘check’: “This is probably the full debate. Find the timestamp of Merkel’s line Sie kennen mich ja and confirm that the video is still public.”}

First Suitability, Then Sympathy

Markus Bühner is a professor of psychological methods and diagnostics at LMU Munich. In a 2015 interview published by the university, he spoke about hiring. Sympathie ist zunächst etwas vermeintlich ganz Wichtiges. At first, liking a person seems very important. But choosing a likeable person who is not suited to the job will sooner or later cause high staff turnover. Liking may decide only between candidates who are all suitable. Ansonsten gilt: Erst kommt die Eignung, dann die Sympathie. Otherwise the rule is: first suitability, then liking.

Faithful in the Least

In the Gospel of Luke, in Luther’s translation: Wer im Geringsten treu ist, der ist auch im Großen treu; und wer im Geringsten ungerecht ist, der ist auch im Großen ungerecht. Whoever is faithful in the least is faithful also in much, and whoever is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. The next verse asks: wer wird euch das wahre Gut anvertrauen? who will entrust you with the true riches?

A Promise Kept at 89

Henry Kissinger was born in Fürth, and his family fled Germany in 1938. He had promised to come and watch the local football club, SpVgg Greuther Fürth, once it reached the Bundesliga. In September 2012, at the age of 89, he came to Fürth’s home game against Schalke 04. Der 89-Jährige hielt sich nun an den Ehrenkodex: ein Mann, ein Wort, wrote Der Spiegel. The 89-year-old kept to the code of honor, one man, one word.

On Time Matters as Much as Quality

In a survey of 1,008 people for Bosch Power Tools, reported in February 2025, respondents said what matters most when choosing a craftsman. The quality of the work was important or most important for 86.7 percent. Termintreue, keeping agreed dates, followed with 86 percent. Transparent costs came next, with 83.3 percent.

Reliable in Agreements

In a 2018 survey by Appinio for the publisher Murmann, 1,000 people in Germany could name up to two things they most want from a boss. The top answer was Vertraut mir, trusts me, with 32.9 percent. Second came Ist verlässlich in Absprachen, is reliable in agreements, with 32.4 percent. Having new ideas got 9.0 percent. In a StepStone survey of about 14,000 professionals and managers in November 2018, 77 percent of professionals agreed with Wir können uns aufeinander verlassen, we can rely on each other.