{"id":4060,"date":"2025-08-28T12:13:36","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T10:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/?p=4060"},"modified":"2025-08-28T12:16:42","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T10:16:42","slug":"what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\/","title":{"rendered":"What Germany can learn from Asian pragmatism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Standing in front of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, I can\u2019t help but wonder:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What can Germany learn from Asia, and from Malaysia in particular?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I first visited Kuala Lumpur almost 25 years ago. I\u2019ve returned many times since then. On my most recent trip I felt inspired to reflect on the following: Although people often face similar challenges everywhere in the world, they tend to respond very differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Three learnings for urban development<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Since 2001, Kuala Lumpur has moved forward with speed and pragmatism. Hamburg, where I live, has improved a lot too, but often too slowly, too process-driven, in a too &#8220;German&#8221; way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are three lessons that I believe Germany must absorb:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Diversity as daily normality: markets, festivals and multilingual signs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Green infrastructure: forests, pocket parks and green corridors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Designing for the climate, not cars: providing shade and water and ensuring short distances.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Three learnings for team development<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The same lesson applies to corporate learning and entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Diversity is the fabric of resilience: teams, like cities, thrive when multiple perspectives shape solutions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Green loops equal learning loops: growth is sustainable when learning is continuous rather than a &#8220;one-off training&#8221;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Design for human beings, not systems: focus on energy, flow and rapid prototyping.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Whenever I am in Asia, I get this impression: In many respects, most Asian countries are much more pragmatic than Europe. They get things done, learn quickly and adapt where needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The KLCC skyline with a green corridor behind me is proof of what is possible in a relatively short time span.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Seizing opportunities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In Germany, we tend to debate until the window of opportunity has closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The deeper question is: Will Germany learn with humility and create with the same courage? Or will we continue polishing concepts while others are already testing prototypes? What transforms us is the courage to begin before we think we are ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whenever I visit Asian cities, I see action and pragmatism: try, adapt, move forward. Across Germany, I often see the opposite: caution, process, hesitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am wondering: What are Germany&#8217;s biggest blind spots?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Standing in front of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, I can\u2019t help but wonder: What can Germany learn from Asia, and from Malaysia in particular? I first visited Kuala Lumpur almost 25 years ago. I\u2019ve returned many times since then. On my most recent trip I felt inspired to reflect on the following: Although [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4061,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[233,241,239],"tags":[273,272,274],"class_list":["post-4060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-future","category-inspiration-en","tag-futureoflearningandwork","tag-germanymeetsasia","tag-learningfromasia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What Germany can learn from Asian pragmatism - Untold Colors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Germany can learn from Asian pragmatism - Untold Colors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Standing in front of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, I can\u2019t help but wonder: What can Germany learn from Asia, and from Malaysia in particular? I first visited Kuala Lumpur almost 25 years ago. I\u2019ve returned many times since then. On my most recent trip I felt inspired to reflect on the following: Although [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Untold Colors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-28T10:13:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-28T10:16:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/LinkedIn_post_KL_Aug2025_9203_765x520.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"765\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"520\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jan-Christoph Daniel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@untoldcolors\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jan-Christoph Daniel\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jan-Christoph Daniel\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1d2f3f05123b16bdf9a25dc2e493a35c\"},\"headline\":\"What Germany can learn from Asian pragmatism\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-28T10:13:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-28T10:16:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":355,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/LinkedIn_post_KL_Aug2025_9203_765x520.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"FutureOfLearningAndWork\",\"GermanyMeetsAsia\",\"LearningFromAsia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Culture\",\"Future\",\"Inspiration\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\\\/\",\"name\":\"What Germany can learn from Asian pragmatism - Untold Colors\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/LinkedIn_post_KL_Aug2025_9203_765x520.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-28T10:13:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-28T10:16:42+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/LinkedIn_post_KL_Aug2025_9203_765x520.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/LinkedIn_post_KL_Aug2025_9203_765x520.jpg\",\"width\":765,\"height\":520,\"caption\":\"Kuala Lumpur, KLCC, Petronas Towers\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Germany can learn from Asian pragmatism\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Untold Colors\",\"description\":\"Make Knowledge tangible\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Untold Colors\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/cropped-Untold_Colors_Icon_512x512.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/cropped-Untold_Colors_Icon_512x512.jpg\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Untold Colors\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1d2f3f05123b16bdf9a25dc2e493a35c\",\"name\":\"Jan-Christoph Daniel\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/cropped-Untold-Colors-Jan-Profil-96x96.jpeg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/cropped-Untold-Colors-Jan-Profil-96x96.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.untoldcolors.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/cropped-Untold-Colors-Jan-Profil-96x96.jpeg\",\"caption\":\"Jan-Christoph Daniel\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/untoldcolors\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Germany can learn from Asian pragmatism - Untold Colors","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Germany can learn from Asian pragmatism - Untold Colors","og_description":"Standing in front of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, I can\u2019t help but wonder: What can Germany learn from Asia, and from Malaysia in particular? I first visited Kuala Lumpur almost 25 years ago. I\u2019ve returned many times since then. On my most recent trip I felt inspired to reflect on the following: Although [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\/","og_site_name":"Untold Colors","article_published_time":"2025-08-28T10:13:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-28T10:16:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":765,"height":520,"url":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/LinkedIn_post_KL_Aug2025_9203_765x520.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jan-Christoph Daniel","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@untoldcolors","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jan-Christoph Daniel","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\/"},"author":{"name":"Jan-Christoph Daniel","@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/1d2f3f05123b16bdf9a25dc2e493a35c"},"headline":"What Germany can learn from Asian pragmatism","datePublished":"2025-08-28T10:13:36+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-28T10:16:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\/"},"wordCount":355,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/LinkedIn_post_KL_Aug2025_9203_765x520.jpg","keywords":["FutureOfLearningAndWork","GermanyMeetsAsia","LearningFromAsia"],"articleSection":["Culture","Future","Inspiration"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\/","url":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\/","name":"What Germany can learn from Asian pragmatism - Untold Colors","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/LinkedIn_post_KL_Aug2025_9203_765x520.jpg","datePublished":"2025-08-28T10:13:36+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-28T10:16:42+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/LinkedIn_post_KL_Aug2025_9203_765x520.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/LinkedIn_post_KL_Aug2025_9203_765x520.jpg","width":765,"height":520,"caption":"Kuala Lumpur, KLCC, Petronas Towers"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/what-germany-can-learn-from-asian-pragmatism\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Germany can learn from Asian pragmatism"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/","name":"Untold Colors","description":"Make Knowledge tangible","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/#organization","name":"Untold Colors","url":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/cropped-Untold_Colors_Icon_512x512.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/cropped-Untold_Colors_Icon_512x512.jpg","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Untold Colors"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/1d2f3f05123b16bdf9a25dc2e493a35c","name":"Jan-Christoph Daniel","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cropped-Untold-Colors-Jan-Profil-96x96.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cropped-Untold-Colors-Jan-Profil-96x96.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cropped-Untold-Colors-Jan-Profil-96x96.jpeg","caption":"Jan-Christoph Daniel"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/untoldcolors"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4060"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4063,"href":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4060\/revisions\/4063"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.untoldcolors.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}