problem vs. opportunity Archives - Page 2 of 3

“What’s in it for me?”

The benefits need to be clear, concrete, personal. They must answer the simple question: “What’s in it for me?” When Americans make a purchase the key driver is the personal utility of the good or service.

This practical understanding of value is rooted in the United States’ most important contribution to the field of philosophy. Although Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America writes: “I think that in no country in the civilized world is less attention paid to philosophy than in the United States,” the U.S. became the birthplace of pragmatism.

American thinkers Charles Sanders Pierce, John Dewey and Henry James believed that the meaning and truth of an idea is a function of its observable practical consequences. All ideas are hypotheses which must prove themselves through experience. Statements are validated through action and consequences. Americans prefer practical success – benefit – over principles.

Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway, an American author and journalist who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954, once lost a suitcase containing all but two of his manuscripts. The incident occurred when Hemingway was in Switzerland in 1922, before any of his fiction had been published.

The author had met with journalist and editor Lincoln Steffens who wanted to see more of Hemingway’s work, so Hemingway asked his wife, who was in Paris, to bring him his manuscripts. She packed all of the papers that she could find, but while she was waiting for her train at the Gare de Lyon she left her suitcase unattended for a short time, during which it was stolen.

When Hemingway complained about his loss to American poet Ezra Pound, Pound referred to the incident as a stroke of luck. The poet said that when Hemingway rewrote the stories, he would remember all of the good material, but forget all of the bad material. In this way his so-called problem would actually perfect his work.

“Problembewusstsein nicht vorhanden”

In the summer of 2014 several members of the Foreign Relations Committee of the German Bundestag visited Washington, DC. Their talks were overshadowed by media reports that the U.S. had been spying on the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND, Germany’s intelligence service) and the Verteidigungsministerum (German Ministry of Defense).

The Germans tried to help their American colleagues to understand the Empörung (indignation, anger, outrage) felt by the German people. They did not get very far, the ARD (one of Germany’s major tv networks) stated in their special report titled Problembewusstsein nicht vorhanden – Problem-consciousness non-existent.

The German parliamentarians left Washington with little hope that their colleagues in the Congress would be able to get the American intelligence agencies under control, if Members of Congress themselves were not aware (conscious) of the problems damaging German-American relations.

Fault-finders

Gabor Steingart, the Editor-in-Chief of the Handelsblatt, was quoted in June 2015 as stating that Bayer AG is Germany’s most valuable blue chip company. Its shareholders are singing Bayer chief executive Marijn Dekkers’ praises.

However, anyone who wants to play devil’s advocate can find enough ammunition in their financial statements. Bayer may be profitable, but German software giant SAP and chemical company Merck are more so. And Bayer’s net financial debt tripled within a year.

Steingart said that German journalists can’t help but look for flaws. He quoted Stefan Aust, his ex-boss at news magazine Der Spiegel, as saying time and again: What we are more than anything is fault-finders.

“Problem”

Middle English probleme, from Latin problema, from Greek problēma. Literally, obstacle. From proballein to throw forward. As in problem as a difficult situation.

The term Problem – problem – has in German a second meaning: topic or subject. Because Germans speak English as a foreign language they often use the term problem when referring simply to a topic or subject, and not to a difficult situation.

This leads to a misperception that they are overly problem-oriented, even negative, pessimistic, destructive. Language can be very tricky, especially when it is not your native tongue.

„Problems“. Quotes

Comparing two German with two American quotes about “problems” provides insight into the differences between the two Problemverständnissen – literally problem-understandings.

“To recognize the problem is more important than to recognize the solution, for the accurate and precise description of the problem leads to its solution.” Albert Einstein

“The conception of the problem is more important than the conception of the solution. More lies in the question than in the answer.” Walter Rathenau

“Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them.” Henry Ford

“I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.” Mark Twain

Problembewusstsein

Germans focus on problems. The more difficult, complex and serious the problem, the better. Problembewusstsein means literally problem consciousness. In order to persuade Germans of a course of action, they first need to be persuaded that the presenter has fully understood the problem, in its depth and breadth. First identify, understand, analyze, then solve the problem.

A major criticism in Germany is to have not – or not adequately – understood the problem. The Germans often say: Das müssen Sie differenzierter sehen meaning “You need to see the situation in a more differentiated way.”

differenziert also means sophisticated. This is their way of saying that one thinks too simplistically. The implication is that they are more intelligent, their problem consciousness more developed. To be intelligent in the German context means to be problem-aware and -oriented.

Problematisieren

To one degree or another you will find in every German a Schwachstellenanalytiker (schwach, weak + stellen, point + analytiker, analyst). A person focused on what doesn’t work, doesn’t make sense, isn’t logical, isn’t optimal.

Weak point analysis aims to avoid errors. And in Germany avoiding errors is often the equivalent of scoring victories. Germans are precision-oriented, in their language, thinking, and work methods. Their products are technically precise. To be precise is to be exact and refined.

The German Schwachstellenanalytiker has a highly developed Problembewusstsein, a problem-consciousness or -awareness. In fact, one can get the impression that Germans have a special relationship with problems, almost a love affair, an obsession.

Part of this impression has to do with language. The German word for problem is Problem, and it has two meanings: subject, topic, what is being discussed; as well as difficulty, dilemma, something to be solved or rectified. Depending on their level of proficiency in English, Germans may use problem in both situations, giving the impression that almost every subject discussed with Germans is a difficulty, dilemma or weak point.

But, perhaps there are legitimate reasons for Germans to have a special relationship with problems. Isn’t any form of progress based on correcting mistakes, refining imperfections, improving on what already works, never being satisfied?

Germans are difficult to satisfy, impress, persuade. Unless, of course, you demonstrate the ability to uncover, define, pull apart and improve on the imperfect. Perhaps German Schwachstellenanalytiker, with their Problembewusstsein, are the true optimists among us, hoping and striving constantly for what could be better.

Perhaps. As long as they don’t confuse problematisieren (endlessly discussing and debating what the problem is) with Probleme lösen (actually solving the problem).

Überproblematisieren

There is no English equivalent to the German verb problematisieren. To problem-icize would be the literal translation. To problematisieren means to seek out, define and analyze a situation, to expound on it, to elaborate on in detail.

Germans will almost always err on the side of being overly problembewusst – problem-aware – of going into greater depth and breadth of analysis of the problem and its possible consequences. Germans tend to überproblematisieren. Über means literally over, in the sense of more, further, too far, in excess.

Schwachstellenanalytiker

Germans, especially those in technical fields, are born Schwachstellenanalytiker or weak point analysts. They actively seek out gaps, contradictions, imperfections. Problem erkannt, Gefahr gebannt – a German figure of speech – translates literally into “problem recognized, danger averted.”

The quality assurance departments in German companies test product prototypes against demanding, systematic standards, searching for any and all types of imperfections. German perfectionism is reflected in their stringent consumer protection laws, making companies liable for problems caused by their products.