{"id":82134,"date":"2025-10-16T14:29:41","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T12:29:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/frolleinflow.com\/why-the-usa-thinks-disruptively-and-germany-prefers-perfectionism\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T12:57:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T11:57:02","slug":"why-the-usa-thinks-disruptively-and-germany-prefers-perfectionism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frolleinflow.com\/en\/why-the-usa-thinks-disruptively-and-germany-prefers-perfectionism\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the USA thinks disruptively &#8211; and Germany prefers perfectionism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"is-style-info has-border-color has-ast-global-color-4-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"border-color:var(--ast-global-color-1);border-width:2px;border-radius:15px\">Why is it so easy for American companies to simply try out new things &#8211; whereas in Germany, a project group is often set up before anyone gets bold?<br\/><br\/>Why do the big technological leaps come from Silicon Valley &#8211; and here in Germany, it&#8217;s mainly improvements to what already exists?<br\/><br\/>The answers lie deeper than tax policy or funding logic.<br\/><br\/>They lie in our <strong>cultural software<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The middle technology trap &#8211; when culture becomes a brake on growth<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.focus.de\/politik\/deutschland\/mitteltechnologie-falle-oekonomen-stellen-konzernen-gefaehrliche-diagnose-aus_71aa3488-786b-49e2-9011-3cce9c61e4fb.html\"><em>Focus article<\/em><\/a> warns with reference to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bundeswirtschaftsministerium.de\/Redaktion\/DE\/Pressemitteilungen\/2025\/10\/20251006-wirtschaftsministerin-katherina-reiche-dankt-wissenschaftlichem-beraterkreis-fuer-vorschlaege-zu-wachstumsagenda.html\">&#8220;growth agenda&#8221; just presented  by the Ministry of Economics<\/a>: Germany is <strong>caught<\/strong> in a <strong>middle-technology trap<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We invest a lot in research, but mostly in sectors that we already know well &#8211; automotive, mechanical engineering, chemicals.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We perfect where others rethink.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is no coincidence, but an expression of our cultural DNA:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list is-style-checkbox\">\n<li>We avoid uncertainty.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We plan instead of experimenting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We trust systematics more than intuition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This creates a culture of innovation that perfects high technologies &#8211; but rarely produces new ones.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The middle technology trap is therefore not an economic problem. It is a <strong>cultural<\/strong> one. <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Hofstede and the cultural codes of innovation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Dutch social psychologist <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/geerthofstede.com\/\">Geert Hofstede<\/a><\/strong> showed back in the 1970s how national cultures deal differently with <strong>uncertainty, power and individuality<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These dimensions shape how people work, learn and assess risks.<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list is-style-checkbox\">\n<li><strong>USA:<\/strong> low uncertainty avoidance, flat hierarchies, high individualism. \u2192 Courage to take risks, acceptance of failure, speed before perfection. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Germany:<\/strong> high uncertainty avoidance, rule orientation, collective coordination. \u2192 Planning, thoroughness, control &#8211; and therefore stability, but also inertia. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The result: the USA rewards the courage to leave things unfinished.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Germany rewards the diligence of the accomplished.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both have their value &#8211; but in disruptive times, security can quickly become a brake on innovation.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>DARPA, SprinD and the institutional dimension<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So how do we deal with this? In this context, reference is often made to the US American <strong>DARPA<\/strong> &#8211; the research agency that gave rise to the Internet, GPS and autonomous systems.   <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Germany has been trying a similar model since 2019 with <strong>SprinD<\/strong> &#8211; but the results have so far been modest.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In my article <a href=\"https:\/\/frolleinflow.com\/darpa-wie-eine-us-behoerde-unsere-welt-veraenderte-und-das-silicon-valley-schuf\/\">DARPA: How a US agency changed our world and created Silicon Valley<\/a>, I described how DARPA has functioned as a <em>laboratory for radical ideas<\/em> since the 1950s:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list is-style-checkbox\">\n<li>with autonomous project managers,  <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>short decision-making processes  <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and a culture of error that sees risk as the norm.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SprinD was deliberately founded based on this model &#8211; but in a different cultural context.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this country, freedom of innovation meets budgetary law, risk assessment and political controlling.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not because people are less creative &#8211; but because <strong>our institutions reflect our culture<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We want planning, control and traceability &#8211; and often lose track of time in the process.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>UEBERflow and the learning culture behind it<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now you could say: we don&#8217;t have a knowledge problem, but an implementation problem.  <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An appeal along the lines of the growth agenda<strong>&#8220;We must learn to make uncertainty productive<\/strong>&#8221; is therefore not enough. After all, how do you learn to do this &#8211; in old structures? <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In my dissertation <a href=\"https:\/\/kobra.bibliothek.uni-kassel.de\/handle\/123456789\/2011122043938\"><em>UEBERflow &#8211; scope for shaping global education<\/em><\/a> (2012), I have already examined this cultural dimension in the context of learning.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I was able to show that Flow experiences &#8211; states of focus and creativity &#8211; occur at different rates depending on how a culture deals with uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In risk-taking cultures (such as the USA), flow occurs early &#8211; in safety-oriented cultures (such as Germany) only when control prevails.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This also applies to organizations.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Securing learning prevents discovery.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Controlling knowledge slows down innovation.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What this means for our training culture<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our training landscape follows the same pattern:<br\/>We love structure, certificates and quality assurance.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But this is precisely what often prevents what we need:<br\/>a culture of <em>trial, error and shared learning<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If Germany wants to break out of the middle-tech trap,<br\/>it must also <strong>transform its training culture<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list is-style-checkbox\">\n<li>Less instruction, more self-organization,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Less testing, more reflection,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Less perfection, more courage to be uncertain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After all, continuing education is not a repair store &#8211; it is the cultural laboratory for future viability.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion: Culture is the new infrastructure<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The growth agenda speaks of &#8220;competitiveness&#8221; and &#8220;innovative strength&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the real challenge lies deeper:<br\/>in the cultural mindset that shapes our institutions, companies and learning spaces.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perhaps we don&#8217;t have to become like Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perhaps it is enough if we learn to become <strong>more culturally agile<\/strong> &#8211; without our depth, but with more lightness.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because the future does not belong to them,<\/p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">who do everything right &#8211; but those who are prepared to learn anew.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From Hofstede to the growth agenda: The middle technology trap as a cultural challenge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10078125,"featured_media":80587,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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