Historically America has always had generous margins of error: resource rich, protected by two oceans, two neighbors posing no threat. Mistakes were seldom costly. Risk-taking often paid off. Americans take risks. Examples
Analysis
German Approach
Germans regard an individual step in a decision-making process as completed only when all relevant information has been gathered and analyzed with rigorous tools. Germans are scientific. They are skeptical of intuition. Examples
American Approach
Americans gather limited, but highly relevant, information. In-depth analysis is done only when necessary. Americans apply rigorous tools of analysis. However, they balance analysis with pragmatism. Examples
American View
For many Americans, German analysis is overly complex, cautious, scientific, tool-oriented.
German View
Americans are viewed by their German colleagues to be too pragmatic, too inexact, too tolerant of insufficient analysis.
Advice to Germans
Reduce the overall scope of your information gathering and analysis. Focus on the most relevant questions. Americans have less of a need than Germans for depth and breadth, as long as the key factors have been addressed.
Advice to Americans
For Germans, comprehensiveness and completeness are a virtue. If you opt for less depth and breadth in your information gathering, be prepared to provide the reasons.
If possible, place a monetary cost on the extra work involved. Demonstrate how there is limited value added to the decision making process (resource conservation).
When it comes to your approach to analysis, your German colleagues will expect you to describe the process, methods and tools you employed or plan to employ.
Germans seek scientific objectivity and avoid “gut-based” approaches to analysis. From their point of view, your results will only be as good, as reliable, as convincing, as the process/method/tools you used to arrive at them.
Resources
German Approach
Germany was never abundant in resources. Germans are economical in what they make, in how they make it, and in how they use it. Suboptimal decisions require modification, which in turn, draws on resources. Germans do their best to get a decision right the first time. Examples
American Approach
The USA has always been abundant in resources. Americans are less economical. In what they make, how they make it, how they use it. Instead, they value rapid resource aggregation and deployment in order to take advantage of opportunities. Examples
American View
The German need to plan their resources in great detail appears to Americans as too conservative.
German View
Germans see Americans as wasteful, which not only limits the decision making autonomy of a particular team, but also of the company in general.
Advice to Germans
Continue to be wary of rash decisions which will limit your room to maneuver. At the same time, use those resources available to you in order to take advantage of an opportunity. Decisions often offer real opportunities.
Advice to Americans
When involved in a joint decision, or in a recurring decision, enter into a dialogue with your German colleagues about the resources required.
Be direct and specific in discussing exactly which resources will be tapped into by whom, when and at what costs. Listen carefully to how they quantify the impact of a given decision on your organzations resources.
Communicate your calculation clearly, also. You will arrive at a resource-allocation acceptable to both.