Q&A – Page 4 – understand-culture

No more meetings

“Our two companies were merged about a year ago. Post-merger integration has been completed. Recently we have begun experiencing cultural problems. More and more often our American colleagues refuse to participate in meetings. They simply say ‘No more meetings!’ We don’t know how to react. What should we do?”

Well, first off, it sounds like the honeymoon is over. There was the initial euphoria. Then came post-merger integration (PMI) with all of its complexity, the many long intense discussions about workstreams, etc.

That was PMI in the technical sense. But the human part has just begun. You’re collaborating. Intensely. Day-in. Day-out. The influence of cultural differences on that collaboration are exerting their influence.

“No more meetings!” is a clear sign that you’re experiencing rather serious problems in your cross-Atlantic collaboration. Ok, no big deal, this is normal. In fact, it is healthy.

Instead of giving a long, detailed response to your question, let me make a few points and include links to further material to read and reflect on, and then ideally to discuss with your colleagues on the other side of the Atlantic.

Communication
There are significant differences in how Germans and Americans communicate. Those differences, if not understood, can inhibit communication. And I mean communication in the literal sense: A not understanding what B has said.

See our content on CI on the Topic – Communication here.

Decision Making
You and your colleagues are meeting in order to make decisions, in order to move forward. It sounds like your American colleagues would like to do less talking, less discussing and more acting, more moving forward.

Well, the fact is that Americans and Germans makes decisions in accordance to different logics. Compared to their German colleagues, Americans want to move much more quickly, after having done less analysis, accepting a higher level of risk.

Leadership
And remember that in the American context decisions – especially important ones – are made with far less consensus-building than in Germany. Americans need less time to discuss, analyze, and decide. They “get out of the blocks” much more quickly than is the case in Germany. Whether their decisions, and their implementation, is better, that is a discussion for another day, and a very complex discussion.

Power
Finally, this could be about power. Not all conflicts or differences of opinion or misunderstandings in cross-border collaboration are caused by cultural differences. Often it is simply a divergence of interests, self- or organizational interests.

For whatever reason, perhaps your American colleagues just don’t want to discuss and debate with their German colleagues a certain topic or issue or decision. They want to act.

Let me offer some consolation, which I stated at the beginning of my response. This problem you are experiencing – “No more meetings!” – is normal in the Germany-USA space. I have experienced it, witnessed it, been involved in it many many many times.

Read this response of mine. Reflect on it. Read the material I have linked to. Read and reflect on that. Send this Q&A to your colleagues, both German and American. Speak together about it. Germans and Americans. You might be surprised how quickly you find a resolution.

Not cowboys

“Our German colleagues are risk averse. They see us Americans as taking unnecessary risk. We see them as doing far too much analysis. Germans think we’re cowboys. How can we beat the cliché that we are cowboys?”

Reluctant to commit

“Our impression on the American side of the Atlantic is that the German business culture is reluctant to commit to projects which have unknowns and are not guaranteed to succeed. In our business culture we are under constant pressure to produce results. We Americans can appear to be pushy, emotional and fiery. How can we reconcile the two approaches?”

Let’s consider this question from a high level, without going into the details. What are the questions within this question? I think they are the following:

The first is commitment. We know that Americans and Germans take different approaches to commitments. How they define them. How they decide whether to enter into them. If agreed to, how they maintain and fulfill them. What are those differences and how do they influence collaboration?

The second is risk, the two culture’s respective understanding of risk. Well, what are those differences and how can American and Germans get a common understanding of the risks involved in individual projects?

The third is pressure. More specifically, the pressure to produce results. In the U.S.: What results? In what form? How quantified? When are they expected? Can these be answered and explained to the German colleagues so that they understand the situation on the ground in the U.S.?

The fourth is about Americans coming across to Germans as pushy, emotional and fiery. Can the three topics above be so explained by the American colleagues such that their German colleagues will understand and be open to searching for ways to reconcile the two respective – and successful – approaches?

And let’s remember what the term reconcile means. Let’s go to MerriamWebster online: “1. to restore to friendship or harmony; 2. to make consistent or congruous; 3. to accept something as unpleasant; 4. to check against another for accuracy.”

Interestingly, each one of these four definitions applies the task at hand:

Get into harmony, into synch, with your German colleagues. In order to do that you need to constantly explain the logics operating in the U.S. Make your responses to customers consistent with both the American and the German approaches, in other words an integrated approach.

There is no other option. Integration means compromise, which in turn is always a bit unpleasant. Constantly check with each other, and with the customer, that things are accurate, meaning accurate in meeting the needs of your customers, but within the key parameters of how you do business.

The customer is not king. And the customer does not want a supplier, especially in a sophisticated and complex business, to be a serf. Serious customers want serious suppliers. And serious suppliers are not serfs to anyone or at any time.

Still persuade

“How is it that certain Americans, although they do not understand the subject matter as well as their German counterparts, and have less experience, are still able to persuade me that their concept, product or service is better?”

Many times in my work I have heard Germans say: „Our proposals are better than those presented by our American colleagues. We have deeper expertise and more experience. But often senior-level management, German included, chooses what the Americans propose.“

Ok, let’s pull apart your question.

Fachlich nicht so gut verstehen, meaning less expertise. And weniger Erfahrung, meaning less experience. What could be more persuasive than those two attributes? „We know the material at a deep level. And we have worked with it over an extended period of time.“ That should be enough to convince anyone, Americans included.

I define authentic expertise as experience understood. Knowledge without experience is empty. It’s up in the clouds, not grounded, it’s theoretical. On the other hand, experience without understanding is not known. It is merely anecdotal, cannot be explained. It, too, is empty.

So how is it that those German colleagues, who have authentic expertise, can fail to persuade another German (same culture!), whereas an American with less authentic expertise can?

Perhaps those German colleagues are ﹣ or come across as ﹣ too theoretical, too academic. Perhaps they are overly problem-oriented, focusing too much on complexity and risk, and not enough on opportunity. Perhaps they are a bit arrogant, therefore not fully listening, a bit close-minded, inflexible.

Perhaps they are not suffienciently motivated. It is one thing to possess the knowledge and the experience to solve a problem, to overcome a significant challenge, to know exactly what needs to be done. It is a wholly different thing to be fired up, determined, utterly focused, totally dedicated to then doing it. Execution!

Maybe, and this is quite subjective, the Germans are less likeable than their American counterparts. Maybe the Americans communicate with you﹣deal with you in the sense of handle you﹣in such a way that you say to yourself: „Yeah, I like these people. They inspire me. There’s energy and excitement in them. They’re like me. I’m like them. I want these folks to succeed. I want to be a part of this!“

Here’s another possible explanation.

Maybe knowledge and experience are not everything. Maybe there are other skills which are just as, if not more, important than knowledge and experience. Such as: a clear vision, if not in detail, of what needs to be done; the ability to recruit and inspire those who will make those things happen; and the management skills to ensure that execution.

Knowledge and experience can be recruited, bought, or borrowed. Americans define leadership more in tems of the overall ability to bring experts together, form them as a team, and then lead them to success. Whereas Germans define leadership on technical expertise (Fachwissen) and experience.

You can see this within their companies. Look at what it takes to advance in German companies, especially technology-driven companies. Then contrast that with what it takes within American companies.

My final thought is that perhaps you have experience working with Americans, or at least observing them, and you see that they, too, are successful. It is not as if America has not produced people and companies who succeed.

So, maybe the rational side of you says: „These folks know how to solve problems. They may not always have the highest level of subject matter expertise nor the many years of experience. But they have many other skills critical to success. And they have the `fire in the belly´ to succeed!“

Two final comments: Your question, Christian, begins with “Wie schaffen es bestimmte Amerikaner, ….“: „How do certain Americans ….“ So we’re talking not about all Americans, but some of them.

Second, and perhaps more importantly: How can Germans, who have authentic expertise, and in most cases, therefore, are proposing what is best for the team and the company, ensure that their message comes across persuasively not only to their fellow Germans, but moreso to their American listeners?

Personality or Arguments

“When Americans are in persuasion-mode what is more important the power of personality or the power of facts and Argumente (reason, points, arguments, making the case)? And why is it so?”

Forecasts

“Our German colleagues do not accept (trust) our forecasts for the U.S. market. We’re not sure why. Perhaps they are stubborn. Or our American presentation logic does not persuade them. Or maybe they simply don’t understand us. How do we get our message across more effectively to Germany?”

Disney Store

“In the Disney Store the young saleswomen dressed as Mickey Mouse were so nice, so sweet to us and our children, as if they wanted to take us in their arms and cuddle with us. Just as quickly, however, it became clear that it was all show. That sudden realization could under certain circumstances lead to Kauf-Unlust (purchase-aversion, -reluctance, -disinclination), after having been so ‘touched’, and given in the impression that you are the greatest customer in the store. Am I being too critical?”

Sell wares

What a great anecdote! So common in German-American interactions. Let’s have some fun with it. Point by point. And a bit tongue-in-cheek on my part: a figure of speech implying that a statement is meant as humor; it should not be taken at face value.

The Disney Store. Stores are businesses. Their goal is to sell their wares, to make a profit. They do so when many customers come in and purchase those wares.

Saleswomen. Yes, those were salespeople in the Mickey Mouse costumes. They are paid to welcome customers to the store, with the hope that they will purchase items. The saleswomen come to work each day dressed in normal clothes, then change into costumes, at the end of the day they switch back into their clothes and go back home.

“… as if they wanted to take us in their arms and cuddle.“ Children﹣your children!﹣are the target group. Disney is primarily about children. Cuddling is what children want to do with their favorite Disney characters. The children then go from the cuddling to seeing something in the store which they want. Seeing the glow in their childrens’ eyes, parents have a difficult time saying no. What a great business model!

“… it was all show.“ Well, yes, you were at Disney. What were you expecting, a collaborative, rational cost-benefit analysis right then and there between you, your wife and children on the one side and the salesperson in the costumes on the other? (tongue-in-cheek)

Ernüchterung

„That sudden realization (Ernüchterung)….“ What a perfect word﹣Ernüchterung﹣for this anecdote! It can be translated into „disillusion“ (removing the illusion) or „sobering“ (making you feel serious and thoughtful).

But an even better translation is „disenchantment.“ To enchant means to attract and hold the attention of someone by being interesting, pretty, etc.; to put a magic spell on someone or something. Magic spell. That’s it! That’s what Disney is all about, enchanting children (and adults, too).

„sudden realization.“ Clearly you and your wife know that a certain degree of „show“, of selling, is normal. And your children, regardless of how young they might be, are also aware that they are in a store, and that stores are about business. Children see their parents pull out their wallets to pay for items. Children often hear from their parents that they cannot have certain things because they are too expensive. The realization could not have been all that sudden.

„That sudden realization could under certain circumstances lead to Kauf-Unlust (purchase-aversion, -reluctance, -disinclination).“ This is the key point of your question. It is the key intercultural point. You are aware of it and have imbedded it into your question. And rightfully so!

Let’s spell it out, but only briefly. For we have done so under Persuasion_Learn.

Buyers and Sellers

We know that in all cultures products and services have to be sold. And that means at some point an interaction between the two parties: buyer and seller. What does that interaction look like, however?

Our topic is Persuasion, which is a sophisticated word for selling. There are all kinds of selling. In different business sectors. At different levels. Between different disciplines. But the core activity is persuading. Selling. So how do Germans and Americans respectively sell, how do they persuade? Stated more precisely, how personal should it be?

For your (German) family visiting Disney in Orlando, Florida, the selling in the Disney Store was a bit overdone, overly sweet, „as if we were the greatest customers in the store“, as if they wanted to „cuddle with us.“

Warning to Americans

Therein lies the difference, the message, the warning to Americans. Put simply: yes, you want to establish some kind of connection to the person to whom you want to sell something. And maybe that connection could and should be personal. But how personal from the German perspective?

And to what degree is it truly personal vs. business-personal, in the sense of a means to an end? The Germans are much more likely to believe that you mean it truly, really, authentically, when you work to establish a personal connection, a personal relationship. Remember, Germans separate between personal and professional far more strongly and clearly than Americans do.

If Germans sense that a person, an American, is not truly interested in a personal connection, that they are faking it﹣a means to an end﹣they might experience Ernüchterung, disenchantment.

And we all know the what feels like to be disenchanted. The magic is gone. One has been tricked, deflated, disappointed, and becomes angry and hurt. „You didn’t really mean it!“

Enchantment may help you close one sale. There may never be a second sale, however.

A small commitment

“One line I often hear in the U.S. is ‘let’s give it a shot’, and ‘this is simple, let’s make a small commitment and see how it goes.’ Is the core thought here to get the foot in the door and build the relationship with a small, low-risk try-out?”

Maintain forward movement

“The Germans do not feel comfortable with aggressive, hard sales, including the American version of it. Americans, on the other hand, perceive their German colleagues as being sales-shy. Taking this important cultural difference into account, how can we maintain forward movement in the U.S., especially since we often cannot predict whether a customer will commit or the size of the opportunity?”

Why so absolute

“In the German culture, why does a yes or a no need to be absolute and not conditional upon changing input factors? In other words, is a qualified yes or a qualified no acceptable in Germany?”

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