Thank you Germany: Part 089: German thoroughness is often ridiculed - and yet it is important

Many jokes have been made about the particular thoroughness of the Germans. And yet it is one of the country's key advantages. It ensures that all matters are dealt with at the right time and exactly as agreed. This guarantees reliability in private life as well as in business. This is why people around the world like to rely on the Germans, especially when it comes to complex matters. People simply know that they will be dealt with to their complete satisfaction and that everything will be legally clean.

For this reason, many companies are very happy to work with German employees or German companies. But even when it comes to international research projects, Germans are often brought on board. They guarantee reliable planning and precise completion step by step. With these special qualities, comprehensive research tasks in particular can be successfully completed. The personal thoroughness of the Germans also ensures that complex requirements with different options for action can be handled well.

Germans plan every opportunity in detail and complete it step by step. While some people are sloppy in their approach, Germans tend to be meticulously precise. This is appreciated in difficult matters. It simply guarantees that every single step is exactly right. Many Germans acquire this quality at school or university. However, when it comes to acting quickly, Germans can do things differently. In many sports, Germans with a quick mind are among the stars who are admired worldwide. There is no doubt that these stars know exactly when to work thoroughly and when not to be too meticulous. Many footballers and tennis professionals come from Germany, for example. However, the country's humanistic education system also has a certain penchant for thoroughness.

If you want to learn ancient languages such as Latin or Greek, you have to be very precise. Only by breaking words down into their parts and determining their exact meaning is it possible to produce a clean translation. The Germans are masters at such thorough work. This mastery must be recognised. As a German, you can also be proud of the thoroughness of your own work. Most Germans are rather modest about it. They hide their light under a bushel at this point. They should appreciate their own qualities more. Thorough work is learnt at school in Germany and, ideally, is retained throughout a lifetime. Thorough work does not exclude a special sense for the practical. Many masters of their trade combine both skills in precise work.

This is precisely why the Germans have done work at the highest level in various fields. They have outstanding athletes as well as researchers. But many Germans also do a good job in companies and in management. Internationally, this important characteristic of Germans is even more praised than ridiculed. Many seminars in the field of management or consulting emphasise the relevance of these qualities for working at the highest level. Germans can be glad that a certain sense of thoroughness is part of the culture here.