Americans plan for the short- to mid-term. Long-term action cannot be planned for properly. It’s not worth the time, effort and investment.
Purpose
For Americans a plan is an approach, a way to proceed. A good plan guides people who are collaborating. A good plan keeps them on a path towards a target.
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Contingency
Because Germans believe in discipline – in sticking to a plan – they plan for less unforeseen circumstances. Instead, they build in room for quick adjustments based on the situation on the ground.
Degree of Detail
The Germans are very detail-oriented. Their plans are highly detailed. The Germans tend to plan from A to Z. And they prefer to plan well in advance before they begin the execution.
contingency
MerriamWebster: a contingent event or condition: such as an event (such as an emergency) that may but is not certain to occur trying to provide for every contingency; something liable to happen as an adjunct to or result of something else, the contingencies of war.
A contingency plan, also known colloquially as Plan B, is a plan devised for an outcome other than in the usual (expected) plan. It is often used for risk management for an exceptional risk that, though unlikely, would have catastrophic consequences.
Short-term thinking in corporate America is strangling the economy
Vox. 2016. Hillary Clinton has made short-term thinking in corporate America — also known as “quarterly capitalism,” a reference to the pressure companies feel to meet quarterly earnings predictions — a central issue in her campaign.
That issue has been bubbling beneath the surface of policy discussion for years, but it’s gained fresh attention as influential investors such as Warren Buffett and Lawrence Fink (of BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset holder), and politicians like Vice President Joe Biden, have stepped up to warn of the perils to our economy of turning away from a long-term perspective.
Short Mid Long
The Germans plan for the medium to long term. Short-term action cannot be properly planned. That is almost a contradiction in terms. Short-term planning is often not worth the time, effort and investment.
Purpose
For the Germans, planning is absolutely crucial for success. A good plan provides structure. It ensures cohesion and stability. Well thought-out planning reduces risk.
“Firms will go bust”
The Guardian. April 2022. Firms will go bust’: Germany prepares for a future without Russian gas.
In Germany, they call it “Day X”. Businesses up and down the land are making contingency plans for what is seen as a growing likelihood that Russian gas will stop flowing into Europe’s biggest economy.
“It would be a disaster – one which would have seemed almost unthinkable just two months ago, but which right now feels like a very realistic prospect,” the owner of a hi-tech mechanical engineering company in western Germany said. The firm produces everything from battery cases for electric cars to train clutch systems.
The speaker did not want to be named, or for his company to be identified, in part for fear, he said, of appearing to support Russia’s war by making the case that if the gas is turned off, his century-old business “will likely not survive”.
But he says he is in a deep quandary and feeling very vulnerable, as he is not only heavily reliant on gas – the cost of which has already soared – but also on metals such as nickel and aluminium, much of which comes from Russia.