Q&A

Question

Why do our US-colleagues send so many emails?

Answer

First, while the high volume of emails generated by Americans may seem excessive to a German, the practice is based on the clear understanding that within American organizations the flow of information is absolutely essential. The default view for Americans is that information sharing is the path to successful outcomes.

No team can succeed without the free, open, and efficient flow of information. In American organizations, the decision-making process is organic, defined by the back and forth, the give and take of information. Sharing information is at the heart of the process.

Successful action is the result of good decision-making, which in turn is achieved only when the full-range of decision options have been proposed, understood and evaluated. This requires having the most accurate, timely, and relevant information gleaned from a broad base of participants; Americans are constantly communicating, sharing and updating information.

Not surprisingly, we see these values reflected in American email protocol and its high volume of communication. For Americans this exchange of emails is not seen as excessive because they see it as simply part of the process of working through the issue confronting the team.

Emails are not interrupting the process, but are essential to it. They are a means to ensure that “the full-range of decision options have been proposed, understood and evaluated” and that they have “the most accurate, timely, and relevant information.” Emails are an important part of the process of give and take and back and forth that is the model of American decision-making.

Second, Americans as a people have it in their cultural DNA to be information sharers. Think of the iconic American town hall; when in doubt Americans communicate. In fact, they often are over-communicators. Simply observe what they reveal to each other as strangers meeting in the supermarket, café, train station, or sitting next to each other on an airplane. Sharing information just comes naturally. Is it any surprise then that most, if not all, of the major trends, tools and platforms in today’s world of communication have their origins in the United States: Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, Google, the list goes on and on.

Third, we’ve all heard the colorful figure of speech “cover your ass”, meaning: do what you can to avoid being blamed for something which goes wrong. As emails provide a record of actions taken, we can assume that the CYA reflex may contribute in some part to the volume of American emails. Americans are aware that sending an email is one way to show at a later time that action was taken. It’s a form of documentation, of proof.

Fourth, email provides a form of documentation in the more pragmatic sense of record-keeping. Instead of keeping notes, one can simply save emails which then can serve as a portable filing system that is always at hand. Email becomes a convenient way to document promises, agreements, decisions, etc., and to keep one informed about the flow and status of things.

Finally, using email may be seen as showing politeness or extending respect. Walking over to consult a colleague or calling on the phone without warning, may constitute an unwelcomed interruption. For this reason, American colleagues who work on the same floor will often still opt to send an email.

Why? Because it does not interrupt that colleague’s work. It does not demand that they stop what they were doing to respond to a question or request. Sending an email is a way to avoid putting them “on the spot” without warning. The outreach by email allows the colleague time to address the issue and to give a considered response. Its subtext might read: “Dear Colleague, I need to speak with you about something or I need something from you or I have something for you, but do not want to interrupt you. Please get back to me if and when you have time. Thank you.”

Question

“We Americans overpromise. Much more than do our German colleagues. How do we strike a balance between overpromising to our American team-leads – and/or to our American customers – and underpromising or realistic-promising to our German colleagues?”

Answer

Reduce the overpromising to your American team-lead. Get real. Get realistic. Only promise what you can deliver. Reduce inflation in the broadest sense in the U.S. Take that chapter from the German book. And encourage your American team-lead to reduce their overpromising to their next level management.

On the other side of the coin, encourage your German colleagues to aim higher. The term encourage means literally to give courage. The Germans are chronic underpromisers, to a fault. They can reach higher and achieve more. They take things too safely, too often. 

Third, make this a topic in your collaboration with both Americans and Germans. Stating it in an oversimplified, but accurate, way: Americans are inflationary. Germans are deflationary. Work together towards the middle.

There is no hiding from this cultural difference. Therefore, address it head-on.

Question

After entering into an agreement Germans do far less follow-up than do Americans. Customers in the U.S., however, often want to maintain high frequency follow-up with their suppliers. How can we get our German colleagues to acknowledge that and help their American colleagues to keep their U.S. customers up to date?

Answer

This is an extraordinarily important question. Why? 

It is one thing if collaboration between Americans and Germans about the frequency of follow-up leads to internal problems. It is a wholly different thing if those problems affect their relationship with customers. 

Let’s first look at my response to a previous question about how to handle follow-up within the organisation, and not regarding customers. The question was: “How to follow up on an agreement without upsetting German colleagues?”

First, ask yourself when is it truly necessary to do follow-up. Americans do a lot of follow-up purely out of nervousness and anxiety. 

Second, when entering into an agreement with your German colleagues, discuss and agree on the frequency of follow-up. Be sure to point out to them the American logic regarding follow-up. Sensitize them to the cultural difference. While doing so allow them to sensitize you about their German logic.

Third, when following up with your German colleagues simply ask them if you are upsetting them. Yes, literally ask them. Give them a chance to signal to what the right frequency is. At the same time, explain to them the parameters within which you are operating, which, in turn, require follow-up.

Fourth, at an appropriate time reach out to your German colleagues and ask them to explain to you how Germans fundamentally handle follow-up. Ask them literally what the German logic is. Chances are your German colleagues will ask you about the American logic.

Ok, let’s now look at the question stated above: how to coordinate follow-up with your German colleagues when it involves keeping the U.S.-customer informed.

First: Continually explain to your German colleagues the nature of the American business environment, especially the important of follow-up in maintaining an on-going overview of commitments, priorities, decisions, projects. 

Folks, this will require a lot of patience on your part. You will have to do a lot of explaining. And explaining of things which for you as Americans in the U.S. business context are seldom discussed, seldom debated, seldom questions. It is what it is. 

Well, you are working in a global environment. Or more precisely, you are working in the US-German environment. You have no other choice but to address the deeper-lying cultural differences. Good. Do it. Get good at it. Combine the strengths of two great cultures. To the benefit of your customers. And to the detriment of your competitors !

Second: always acknowledge the rightness and legitimacy of the German logic. Honor the strengths of the German approach to follow-up. Remember, Germany has the fourth-largest economy in the world with only about 80 million people. They are certainly doing a whole lot of things right. Which means that how they handle agreements in general, and follow-up specifically, works and leads to success. 

Third: in the case of specific customers, go into the details. Explain to your German colleagues: 1. the concrete follow-up needs of the customer; 2. the customer’s reasons for those needs; and 3. the deeper-lying logic in the U.S. which drives such needs.

Fourth: then, together, formulate a follow-up plan, and with the customer. Yes, seriously. First you ask your customer to define their information and follow-up needs. Get into their heads. Identify what their real needs are not their nice-to-have needs. They’ll have plenty of those. 

Then discuss those customer-defined needs internally, come up with a draft plan, send that draft to your German colleagues for discussion. Then work out a joint-plan. Take that back and discuss it with the customer. When doing so, explain to the customer the German logic. 

I’ll bet they will find that interesting. Why? Because they, too, are probably working in and across cultures. They, too, experience cultural differences. And they very likely will be impressed by how you and your German colleagues manage the cultural complexity, and most importantly, get the complexity to work for them as the customer !

Question

We have established expectations regarding both individual agreements and to how we will handle follow-up on those agreements. How do we then avoid irritating our German colleagues with requests for updates?

Answer

First, ask yourself when is it truly necessary to do follow-up. Americans do a lot of follow-up purely out of nervousness and anxiety. 

Second, when entering into an agreement with your German colleagues, discuss and agree on the frequency of follow-up. Be sure to point out to them the American logic regarding follow-up. Sensitize them to the cultural difference. While doing so allow them to sensitize you about their German logic.

Third, when following up with your German colleagues simply ask them if you are upsetting them. Yes, literally ask them. Give them a chance to signal to what the right frequency is. At the same time, explain to them the parameters within which you are operating, which, in turn, require follow-up.

Fourth, at an appropriate time reach out to your German colleagues and ask them to explain to you how Germans fundamentally handle follow-up. Ask them literally what the German logic is. Chances are your German colleagues will ask you about the American logic.

Question

Germans prefer to deliver complete results, even if late, over incomplete results, but fast. In addition, their frequency of follow-up is low compared to the U.S. How can American colleagues maintain constant and accurate overview of the agreements made with their German colleagues, including factoring in new agreements the Germans may have entered into?

Answer

First, ask yourself when is it truly necessary to do follow-up. Americans do a lot of follow-up purely out of nervousness and anxiety. Start with taking a critical look at your own logic.

Second, when entering into individual agreements with your German colleagues, discuss and agree on the frequency of follow-up. Be sure to point out to them the American logic regarding follow-up. Sensitize them to the cultural difference. 

Continually explain to your German colleagues the nature of the American business environment, especially the important of follow-up in maintaining an on-going overview of commitments, priorities, decisions, projects. 

Third, when following up with your German colleagues simply ask them if the follow-up frenquency is still good, effective, working well. Yes, literally ask them. Give them a chance to signal to what the right frequency is. At the same time, explain to them the parameters within which you are operating, which, in turn, require follow-up.

Fourth, at an appropriate time reach out to your German colleagues and ask them to explain to you how Germans fundamentally handle follow-up. Ask them literally what the German logic is. Chances are your German colleagues will ask you about the American logic.

Always acknowledge the rightness and legitimacy of their logic. Honor the strengths of the German approach to follow-up. Remember, Germany has the fourth-largest economy in the world with only about 80 million people. They are certainly doing a whole lot of things right. Which means that how they handle agreements in general, and follow-up specifically, works and leads to success. 

A final point: you must have all sorts of shared documents which inform both sides of the Atlantic Ocean about projects, customer interactions, and such. It should be technically possible to simply add another piece of information, another parameter. 

Name it Follow-up. Then give it some pieces: project name; customer involved; information needs of customer, of US, of Germany; what information, in what form, why, by when, sent from whom, to whom.

And be sure to have a space for “factoring in new agreements the Germans – or the Americans – may have entered into.”

Question

In the German context does a verbal agreement have the same value – binding character – as a written agreement?

Answer

In the German context there is no higher level of commitment than making a written agreement. The written word in the German culture is extroardinarily binding. It is a reason why Germans are so careful about signing their name to an agreement.

A verbal commitment has almost as high a level of commitment – binding character – as a written agreement. In general, as a culture, when the Germans say and/or write yes, they consider themselve to have given their word. It is binding. And not in the American sense of different levels: 98%, 68%, 38%, 18%, 8%, even -8% and so on.

Question

“How can we best get by that initial German-No response?”

Answer

First, never assume that the German-No is hard and fast. Often it is simply their immediate response to a question which has been stated to them requiring yes or no. In other words, they feel that they have to make an immediate decision. 

Just as an American-Yes can range from 98% to 68% to 38% to 18% in terms of level of commitment, so can a German-No be anywhere in that range.

Second, in order to get an initial sense for roughly where the German-No is in the commitment range ask in a friendly and polite way:

“Why not?” or “Ok, but can you, please, tell me what the barriers are to you giving me a yes?” or “Ok, I understand. Well, what can I do in order to make it easy for you to say yes?”

Third, take whatever responses you get – the reasons for the no – and work on each one individually. Think of what it is like to whittle down a stick with a penknife, stroke for stroke, cut for cut, shaving for shaving. In other words, overcome each no-reason, one after the other, patiently, but persistently.