More – understand-culture

Worst of both worlds

“Ok, we understand the idea that the overall goal of integration is bringing together the best of both worlds – German approach and American approach. For example, German thoroughness and American speed and flexibility. But how do we react when we find ourselves bringing together the worst of both worlds – sloppy work and far too slow?”

This is not the easiest of questions to respond to. There is no specific point of entry. It is clear that collaboration is not going well. I suspect that the organization has not been addressing culture. Or that if it has, then most likely not in the right way.

I would have to know much more about the situationt in order to provide any meaningful advice. So let me just make a few general points.

Par for the course
That is a figure of speech. The MerriamWebster Dictionary states: “the score standard for each hole of a golf course; an amount taken as an average or norm,an accepted standard.”

I hope that my statement – that your problem is “par for the course” – is consoling. For the problem you are experiencing is no surprise, is rather normal, and in many ways healthy. No one on either side is doing anything wrong.

Don’t panic. Remain calm. Continue to engage with each other. You’ve entered into a complex relationship. It requires time and patience to work things out.

Human Beings
Always remember, especially in the “heat of the battle”, that you are colleagues. You are in this together. You succeed or fail together. This is personal. And it should be personal. You are human beings and not machines. We human beings make machines. And we live in the Machine Age. But we ourselves are not machines. We do not interact with each other as if we were parts in a machine.

Subject Matter
Begin – together – identifying the key points of difference. Literally, what you are fighting about, what you are struggling over. Proceed point-for-point. Don’t be afraid to let the emotions out. Don’t try to suppress them. But always be honest and sincere with each other. And, at all costs, do not be political with each other. Do not treat each other as means to an end, but instead as ends in and of themselves.

Culture
Then, point-for-point, engage with each other about the your respective logics, about the deep-lying drivers of your thought and therefore of your action. Explain to each other how you think, why you think that way, where it comes from.

This will not be easy. Most of us don’t usually reflect on this. We think that our approach is universal and not country- or culture-specific. Identifying and then reflecting about our deeper-lying drivers is difficult enough. Explaining them to colleagues from another culture is even more of a challenge. We are simply not used to doing it. It is unfamiliar to us.

‘The American’

“Is it accurate – and helpful – to refer to ‘the American’? What do a New Yorker, a recent Mexican immigrant in Texas, and a Californian have in common?“

Broad and deep consensus

This is an extraordinarily important question. Why?

If the answer is: “John, you cannot generalize about people. There is no such thing as the American or the German”, then CI, my work, your reflecting on intercultural differences has little to no value.

This foundational question is posed to me time and again. Since I intend to address it soon in a more systematic way, I’ll just give you some food for thought, in the form of questions and statements.

If a large, complex society functions well (see Germany, USA), then there must be a broad and deep consensus among its people about how it does some very fundamental things. See the ten topics CI currently addresses. There are more. What is meant is not a lowest common denominator in those things, but a deeply rooted belief about those things.

Immigrant influence

Although America is an immigrant nation, with newcomers arriving constantly and from different cultures, can you name which newcomer-cultures were immediately embraced by the dominant culture(s) within America?

Asked differently: If you are an American, when was the last time you – in the workplace – went up to a colleague who is a recent immigrant (or at least first generation American) and asked them about their culture, with the expressed intent to allow your own thinking (culture) to be influenced by that colleague’s culture?

American history makes clear that the dominant cultures within the U.S. invariably demand of immigrants that they assimilate.

Your success in other American companies

If you are capable at what you do, you are able to transfer immediately to another company within the U.S. and to perform the same or similar work at the same level – or higher – of proficiency. Why?

Because of your capabilites, yes. But primarily because you are an American and would be moving to another American company. Would this be the case if you were to move to a company in the same business sector, doing the same work, but in another business culture?

Let me finish by addressing one difference between Germans and Americans. The topic is Persuasion. The German logic is: “Arguments should speak for themself.” The American logic is: “Sell yourself first, then your product or service.”

People in boxes

If those two statements are true – the one for Germans, the other for Americans – would there be any significant variation – in the context of German-American collaboration – if the German giving a presentation were man or woman; young or old; Catholic, Protestant or non-believer; from Northern or Southern Germany; extrovert or introvert; trained in the sciences, engineering, law, economics or humanities; from a large or a small family; working in the automobile industry or chemicals or software or financial services; in a position high, mid or low in the organization?

Or flip it around. If the statement is fundamentally true about how American persuade, and an American were attempting to persuade a German audience, would it make any significant difference whether that American were male or female; young or old; etc.?

I believe not.

You see, we can “put people in boxes.” We can generalize. In fact, we do it all the time. We look for patterns in order to deal with complexity.

There are such things as national cultures. There are peoples. And peoples have charactistics. They have ways of thinking and acting. Our job is to understand those ways, discuss them, and find out how to best combine them. That is what our work is all about.

Come and go

“Whereas most American colleagues participate for the full duration of a meeting, other American colleagues come and go. Why?”

Personally connect

“Are Germans able to personally connect in/out of the workplace? Or has the formalistic nature of German society gradually removed the intuitive person from the individual entirely?“

I am not quite sure that I understand the question: “personally connect”; “in/out of the workplace”; “formalistic nature of German society”; “the intuitive person”.

Let me address those four pieces individually:

personally connect

How can a society as large, as sophisticated and as successful as the German be made up of people who are not capable of personally connecting? German society functions exceptionally well. The indicators are quite clear: health, justice, stability, security, economic achievement, democracy, etc. The Germans know how to connect personally.

in/out of the workplace

If above were a true statement, then it would be true for both the private and work spheres. A culture’s logic – regardless of the topic – is at play in both the private, public and work spheres.

formalistic nature of German society

I’m not sure what is meant by formalistic. There is the formal and the informal. All societies have their mixture, their combinations. There are differences between Germany and the U.S. But, is Germany more formalistic than the U.S.? I suppose it depends on the situation.

removed the intuitive person from the individual

I’m not sure what that means.

I suspect that imbedded in the question is a misperception of the German people. Or the questioner has had certain experiences interacting with Germans that may have given the impression that Germans have problems or limitations in their interactions with each other and/or with other cultures.

And that those problems are partly a result of their formalistic (formal, regimented, inflexible) society. It would be interesting to hear anecdotes or experiences from the questioner.

The title of the question – It’s all persönlich (personal) – indicates that the point being made might be that Germans are not very personal. If this is the impression made on the questioner, I can understand it immediately.

Misperception

And it is legitimate. From the American perspective. But certainly not from the German point of view, nor from the perspective of those who have come to know the Germans.

They are a very personable people, with big hearts, deep earnestness, and a willingness to help whenever they are asked. But again, see my comments above under personally connect.

The intercultural question – and critical to German-American collaboration – is: What are the cultural differences which can lead one side to have an image (an understanding or misunderstanding) of another people which is not aligned with that other culture’s self-image?

Being right

“Why in Germany is there such a focus on being right?”

Competitive, Capable

Although the Germans are a people of only eighty million, their economy is ranked fourth behind the United States with three hundred million, the Chinese with one billion three hundred and forty million, and the Japanese with one hundred and thirty million.

The Dax30 are some of the most successful global companies. The Germans continue to be among the world‘s leaders in critical industries: automobiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics, telecommunications, and especially those based on mechanical engineering.

Many experts believe that the great strength of the German economy lies in its so-called Mittelstand, an umbrella term for small- to medium-sized companies. Many of these family-owned business enjoy very high market shares, some dominating their particular markets worldwide.

During the financial crisis in the United States and Europe it is the German economy which continues to enjoy consistent growth. Its government is forecasting a balanced budget again in the year 2016. And despite discussion and debate about the merits of austerity measures, the German economy is the envy, and perhaps for some countries, the model of how to work.

As a people, the Germans are indeed battlesome, quarrelsome. As Northern Europeans their history as a people is deeply rooted in centuries of conflict, some initiated by them, many not.

The German strive for excellence. On the athletic field they have proven their ability to win. In the modern Olympic games the Germans have consistently ranked among the top medal winners, despite their modest population size. The most popular sport in Germany is soccer. There, too, they produce winning teams.

The Germans are a competitive and capable people. They like to win.

Zukunft sichern

Zukunft, a noun, means the future. Sichern, a verb, means to secure. In their domestic political debates all German parties address what Germany needs to do in order to secure its future. For foreign ears this can sound a bit exaggerated, purposely alarming. But it is meant literally and taken seriously by the German people.

German society involves a significant role of the government. Social services are many and expensive. The Germans are generous with each other. These services, however, can only be financed by a strong economy, which, in turn, requires that German companies offer products and services which command high prices and high margins.

The key to this, from the German perspective, is maintaining a very high level of intellectual and technical expertise. They are acutely aware of how critical it is to their future to train and develop people strong in the natural sciences, mathematics, and especially in engineering.

For Germans, ideas matter. Ideas are the core, the source of their expertise. Knowledge secures their future, not only of their economy and their companies, but also as individuals in their jobs within those companies.

Discussing and debating important issues, topics, subjects is something the German people take very seriously. Depending on the subject matter, they could see them as affecting directly their future, as individuals, companies, as a people.

Could it be that the subjects, topics, issues, questions which Germans consider to be absolutely essential (core) to their success (Zukunft, future) are not necessarily the same as those considered to be core by the Americans?

In other words, those topics which Germans get competitive (argumentative) about might very well be non- or less-core topics for Americans, leading Americans to think, and perhaps say: „Just relax, folks. This is important, but not a life-or-death issue. Let‘s reach some common ground here, then move on.“

Intellectual Curiosity

The Germans are an exceptionally curious people. They want to explore, ask, inquire, in the end understand. They want to move ever closer to the truth.

Some of modern Western civilization‘s greatest thinkers were German: In the natural sciences such as chemistry and biology, in mathematics and certainly in physics, but equally so in philosophy, theology, history, economics, political theory, sociology, and the law. The German approach to higher education, the Universität, of the 19th century was the model for the modern American university.

The Germans are known for being complex, analytical and systematic thinkers. They take pride in, they value highly, the ability to durch die dicksten Bretter bohren, literally to drill through the thickest boards. Conversely, the Germans have little respect or patience for those who take a superficial approach to any questions, task or endeavour.

Stubborn

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines stubborn as „unreasonably unyielding; difficult to handle, manage, or treat.“ It lists the following similar words (synonym): adamant, bullheaded, dogged, hard, hardheaded, inflexible, intransigent, opinionated. stiff-necked. The opposite (antonym) of stubborn is: acquiescent, agreeable, amenable, compliant, flexible, pliable, yielding.

Indeed, the Germans can be stubborn. Some individual Germans can be particularly inflexible. It could even be argued that stubbornness is a German character trait. We will leave that question to the psychologists and sociologists.

The Germans also have a tendancy to be know-it-alls. Their term is Besserwisser, from besser better and wisserknower, from Wissen knowledge. See the link below.

But, if we are honest with ourselves, we should ask „Who likes to be wrong?“, especially on important matters. In fact, stubbornness can be a positive character trait if it means „holding your ground“ or „defending a principle“ or „staying focused on what is right, good, effective.“

Argument vs. Counter-Argument

Depending on how a given culture communicates, interacts, discusses and debates, the Germans can come across as insisting on being right. „Why do they always have to be right?“, one asks in frustration and exasperation. This could be influenced, therefore misperceived, simply by how Germans communicate.

A contributing factor is the Germans belief in the value of dialectical thinking: thesis, antithesis, synthesis. Stated in an overly simplified way, Germans, consciously or unconsciously, discuss topics in terms of a statement made by one person, this then countered or challenged by the other person, in the hope of arriving at a higher level of understanding. What for the Americans is an argument, is for the Germans a discussion.

Discussions with Germans can, indeed, take on the character of a debate. They are taught to think this way, in their schooling, in their place of work. Germans believe in the value of rigorous thinking and debating. Therefore, they can come across as argumentative, a term with a negative meaning, simply because they discuss via argument and counter-argument.

“The American”

“Is it accurate – and helpful – to refer to the American? What do a New Yorker, a recent Mexican immigrant in Texas, and a Californian have in common?“

Broad and deep consensus

This is an extraordinarily important question. Why?

Immigrant influence

American history makes clear that the dominant cultures within the U.S. invariably demand of immigrants that they assimilate.

Your success in other American companies

People in boxes

I believe not.

You see, we can “put people in boxes.” We can generalize. In fact, we do it all the time. We look for patterns in order to deal with complexity.

Most admired companies

“What German companies do Germans admire the most? And do Germans feel that those companies receive their fair market share in the U.S.?“