It's always funny to me to see people say "well we just don't do business the way it's done in [the largest economy the world has ever known]."

America is only 24% of world’s GDP — Most business in the world is not done ‘the American way’. Europe is 21%, their ways are just as valid. It just depends on the expectations from the other side.

You won’t be able to run a business the American way in Germany, not would you be able to it vice versa.

Nor you should be able to be.

(There is nothing historic about being able to capture 20-25% of the world’s GDP either — England (1800s), Turkey (1600-1700) and China (European dark age through Middle Ages) has all achieved the same economic power US enjoys as of today.

> You won’t be able to run a business the American way in Germany, not would you be able to it vice versa.

This thread is incredibly vague. I bet there is significant if not majority overlap between the two.

Back to Dale Carnegie, his advice about not telling people "you are wrong" and getting to know them is some of the best and simplest advice I've ever received, and transcends time and space.

My personal experience is that Germans take 'doing it by the book' to a whole another extreme. It's paperwork until the end of time. (I have no affiliation with either, but I've worked with both)