why German culture is far superior to American culture

Germans are boring as fuck

Germans complain too much.

If employees in the service industry left me alone and stopped trying to make eye contact or small talk, I would spend much more of my money at those places. Most people like it, though, so I just avoid these places.

I might have agreed with your assessment about cultures until today when I read that Hamburg is now confiscating private property without compensation for the use of Muslim "refugees." That entire culture is rotten to the core and has been since the late 19th century. Germany was once the cultural center of Europe and perhaps the world--now it's just a cancer patient dying a slow death.

Soviet culture is the same way in many ways. That's barely a summary of a culture though. They're just no-nonsense people and Americans like to say lots of words and get upset about things.

Agree. Germans are straight forward. Americans are full of shit. British > Germans > American

I agree that shopkeepers should stop being so friendly. If I'm going into walmart, I know what I'm getting. I don't need help. I want to get out of there asap. In terms of business though, I enjoy getting to know people on a personal basis. I've made plenty of personal connections and friends through work and networking. Impossible to do that if all you talk about is work. American companies are some of the most productive in the world. Can talk all you want about "German efficiency" or whatever but I'm not buying it. Sure, there are plenty of aspects of American business that should be changed. I don't think you should have to be able to play golf or drink a lot of alcohol in order to participate in normal social business activities. But at the same time, I think forming personal relationships with the people you work with is important for developing trust, which is arguably the most important part of facilitating successful business transactions.

OP, you have some valid points, but your delivery is poor. Having moved into corporate from IB, I can definitely attest to the ridiculous amount of meetings and time wasting that happens in the American business setting, though.

" tired of being labeled "abrasive" or "abrupt" by others when I am simply trying to get shit done."

Most people who say this are just oblivious assholes.

Do you guys seriously believe that Germans don't do smalltalk, make jokes at work or only talk about work to their colleagues? This is very stereotypical and it's definetely not true. I can tell since I live in Germany and I've also lived in the US for a bit.

@Dances with Dachshunds: The Statement about Hamburg is absolute bullshit.

Lol, absolute nonsense in here.

For engineering yes

For maths yes

For innovation no, fuck no.

No one comes close.

we had a German foreign exchange student in HS, one day in history class the teacher was lecturing about the "American Dream." One girl in our class turned and asked the German student if his country had something similar. He quietly said yes, but the world didn't like their version.

Oh boy the look on her face.

While I understand the admiration of expediting / avoiding futile interaction and sticking to the sole purpose of the interaction; I'd argue that if everyone behaved in this fashion it would be lack of culture. We're not mindless drones and interacting with people, while awkward at times, is also a stimuli ingrained in human pathology.

Seeking common bond isn't lack of culture and time wasting; it's in the interest of establishing long term mutually beneficial relationships. I do like the idea of "pushing towards the point" in conversation, but sometimes the best conversation is without point. Having a conversation that naturally meanders between interested parties in my experience the source of some of the best conversations I've had. Why not just point and grunt and nod our heads?

Germany is better just because strangers don't talk to you? Just move to the west coast or the northeast and strangers still won't talk to you.

What an odd thing to make a claim of superior culture about.

cultures are different. just because you don't like small talk doesn't mean that cultures which value it are inherently bad. mediterranean cultures are like this, some latin american, even I would argue some asian and middle eastern cultures require a bit of a "dance" before it's down to business.

I could make the same argument that Germans, Russians, whoever try to get to business too quickly and therefore don't care about me as a person nor adequately understand my needs. the whole point of rapport building is twofold: one, to make working together more pleasant, two to ensure that both parties understand the other's needs and therefore can work better together.

I agree that you don't need to build rapport with me if I'm going to target and need to buy some undershirts, I just need to know where they're located in the store. however, if I'm looking for a strategic buyer for my business and am going to give up a 60% stake, just because they're giving me liquidity doesn't mean that we shouldn't get to know one another beforehand.

OP, I bet you're the kind of person who does great with a list of instructions on a project. you're a self starter, and don't need much handholding. that's great for junior level...assuming you don't care about moving up. you need to turn your right brain on more often and think creatively so you can help your firm/teams clients better. you'll do better for them, for your company, and most importantly, for yourself ($$$).

also, stfu about saying one country/culture is better than others. it depends on what you value and is entirely subjective. yes we've won some wars, but we've also had some missteps. this argument feels a lot like "my dad is taller and stronger than your dad, so THERE!" give it a fucking rest people.

Maybe you're just inferior