FAQDoesn‘t this all involve oversimplification?

Well, yes, oversimplification, but only at the outset. We really don‘t have any other choice. We begin with black and white, with the north, south, east and west coordinates, with the poles. We first approach, approximate, then over time develop a more precise understanding. First north, then west, then north by northwest. First the forest, then the trees. We move from black and white to shades of gray. Or perhaps more accurately put, from black and white to color. Beginning with the poles, however, does not mean polarizing.

The key is curiosity, a willingness to listen, to ask why? wherefrom? Remaining in dialogue, searching to understand, and to be understood. Identifying the thinking behind the action. We can reflect. On others. About ourselves. We‘re human beings. We‘re conscious of ourselves. Cows don‘t know that they‘re cows. We know that we‘re human persons (and not cows).

But, if we‘re honest with ourselves, we all think in clichés about cultures we are not familiar with. „Familiar“ from family, Middle English familie, before then from Latin familia. The German word for family is Familie. What do I, John Magee, know about China and the Chinese? Not much. Frankly, next to nothing. I don‘t speak their language, didn‘t study their history, never worked with them, never been to their country, get my information from the media, Western media, American and German, to be precise. So, by definition all of my thoughts about Chana and the Chinese are grossly oversimplified.

Nonetheless, oversimplification is a danger, especially since folks are very busy and cannot always devote the necessary time to getting to know, to becoming familiar with, another national culture. We‘re then inclined to want it all in compact, freeze dried form, in the sense of „Just give me the key points, the Do‘s and Dont‘s, the executive summary.“ We all have this tendancy.

Folks who expect the „executive summary“ will come up short with us, will be disappointed, will have to look elsewhere. We believe strongly that Germans and Americans need to enter into dialogue with each other, over a longer period of time. Thinking, reflecting, discussing, searching. This is not like an Excel spreadsheet where, if you get the columns, rows and functions right, the numbers appear magically at the bottom.

But again, people are under time constraints. So we developed a blended learning approach. Seminars (classroom) for folks who can work it into their schedule. Webinars for folks decentrally located or often on the road. The web-based curriculum for everyone regardless of location and time zone. All three of these modes of delivery complement each other. All can be accessed by our clients.

Whether seminar, webinar or web curriculum, the fundamentals remain the same. We identify and address those key issue areas which influence business. We believe they are communication, agreements, persuasion, decision making, leadership, feedback, conflict resolution, product philosophy, processes, and several topics revolving around the customer-supplier business relationships. There are more topics. And we are researching them.

We provide solid, deep-dive analysis, always responding to three questions: Where do we diverge in our thinking, therefore action? What problems, but also opportunities, are created by these divergences? How do we as Americans and Germans minimize the problems, while maximizing on the opportunities?

Finally, we organize and prepare the material so that it can be understood, in an atmosphere, in a spirit, in which colleagues from both sides of the Atlantic engage with each other. Engage in the sense of apply it to their work. Insight should work for them.