Balancing Action v. Analysis

I was reading this post over at grokdotcom on the balance between using executive gunslingers to solve problems vs. internally asking the hard strategic questions and working on the answers before taking action, even though its ACTION we love and want...especially us North American based executives... forgive the generalization but most NA based companies I have had the pleasure of working with, have the "say... that's a good idea, lets act on it" approach to business. 

Einstein's quote from the grokdotcom post succinctly encapsulates how I view SAP's approach to business:

If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it.

While the company loves action and appreciates the fulfillment of execution, it also appreciates the value of precise analysis around the problem before moving into execution.  Since Einstein is from that European neck of the woods, I wonder how much of his attitude (and ours) is intrinsic to his brilliance or the social milieu he was brought up in?

Comments

[Jeremiah]

1.

I think that you are on to something about SAP corporate culture. There's also the fact that SAP recruits heavily in Math and Physics PhD circles - types who like to ask whether a question is well formed before trying to answer it. Unfortunately, this often leads to paralysis.

What I see as the key to SAP success is a combination of urgency of Americans with the thoughtfulness of Middle Europeans. Sometimes you see it, sometimes you don't...

[Steve]

2.

I think one of SAP's advantages in the market is exactly what you are pointing out... our ability to act quickly when needed but based on sound and extensive analysis.. its interesting to watch th two approaches bang heads though. :)