Here’s to a more German 2008
January 4th, 2008 by Hugh KennedyNo, I don’t mean telling fewer jokes to colleagues or really organizing your desktop, but communicating and working a little bit more efficiently.
The backdrop: several years ago, PJA hosted a marketing manager from one of our global clients. The manager, based in Germany, spent a few months at local HQ and during her stay came to PJA for a look inside an American agency.
While we were waiting for some of her colleagues to arrive for a meeting (you’ll never guess; they were late), I talked to this marketing manager about the different cultural approaches to doing business in American and German corporations. Coming out of this baptism in the American way, she had some strong opinions. In essence, here’s what she said:
“I’m amazed at how much time Americans waste on meetings! And how much we bother each other all day long. In Germany you would never get up and lurk around people’s desks to exchange news. We go into work, we work all morning, and then we have lunch together and talk. That’s when we really exchange information, over lunch. Then in the afternoon we go back to our desks and work again, so we can leave at a reasonable hour.”
If you’ve already noticed meeting and email creep in your world, here’s a resolution we can all benefit from in 2008: when you’re at work, focus on getting your work done. That leaves a lot more time for life. Just be a bit more German about it.