7 ms·

Not sure about this. I'm going to paint with broad stripes here, but take Spanish work culture versus USA for example. Spain is okay with 'good enough', while U

Not sure about this. I'm going to paint with broad stripes here, but take Spanish work culture versus USA for example. Spain is okay with 'good enough', while US is striving for excellence through overtime etc. Or Christmas in the US, everything "has to be perfect", if there's a slight hiccup, the whole thing is ruined. In Spain people just shrug their shoulders and carry on. In my opinion, as a consequence, the average Spanish person is a lot happier than the average American.

_yb2s 4y ago
Interesting that you would point out the Spanish vs American work culture. I feel there is some more nuance and complexity here that can't be captured in a single dimension, e.g. 80% vs 100%. As a scientist, I have found that I most often prefer to work with Spanish scientists on projects, and indeed mostly collaborate with Spanish people, despite having never been to Spain, not speaking Spanish, etc. I just really connect with their culture and attitude, and love working with them. But I wouldn't characterize it as "good enough" vs "excellence." I find there is a deeper excellence in Spanish work that you don't usually see in American work that is hard for me to put words to, but I will list a few things that come to mind as well as I can: * An appreciation for minimalism and simplicity- simplifying the work itself, so that it can be 'excellent' while being paired down to the core of what is important, with nothing superfluous or distracting added. Simplicity allows more excellent work, not less, and allows you to actually get to 100%. * A playful or joyful child-like attitude towards the work that sees it as fun, rather than a huge stressful burden. This lightness allows for visionary high risk work that would be too 'scary' for people that take the work too seriously and can't endure a chance of failure. * An understanding that we are humans, and need relaxation, naps, solitude, contemplation, and joyful social experiences to be fully human, and to continue being creative, happy, and healthy people that can do excellent work. In short, I feel that the Spanish approach to work actually makes it practical to bring work from merely "good" to truly "excellent" without burning out. Nietzsche, a German, writes a lot about this, and how he much more admires and likes to work with Mediterranean philosophers vs other Germans, and how he also feels that the cultural differences make German work mostly mediocre, and Mediterranean work excellent. This is the idea behind his book "The Gay Science," e.g. The Joyful Wisdom or The Joyous Science.

_yb2s 4y ago

Interesting that you would point out the Spanish vs American work culture. I feel there is some more nuance and complexity here that can't be captured in a single dimension, e.g. 80% vs 100%. As a scientist, I have found that I most often prefer to work with Spanish scientists on projects, and indeed mostly collaborate with Spanish people, despite having never been to Spain, not speaking Spanish, etc. I just really connect with their culture and attitude, and love working with them. But I wouldn't characterize it as "good enough" vs "excellence." I find there is a deeper excellence in Spanish work that you don't usually see in American work that is hard for me to put words to, but I will list a few things that come to mind as well as I can: * An appreciation for minimalism and simplicity- simplifying the work itself, so that it can be 'excellent' while being paired down to the core of what is important, with nothing superfluous or distracting added. Simplicity allows more excellent work, not less, and allows you to actually get to 100%. * A playful or joyful child-like attitude towards the work that sees it as fun, rather than a huge stressful burden. This lightness allows for visionary high risk work that would be too 'scary' for people that take the work too seriously and can't endure a chance of failure. * An understanding that we are humans, and need relaxation, naps, solitude, contemplation, and joyful social experiences to be fully human, and to continue being creative, happy, and healthy people that can do excellent work. In short, I feel that the Spanish approach to work actually makes it practical to bring work from merely "good" to truly "excellent" without burning out. Nietzsche, a German, writes a lot about this, and how he much more admires and likes to work with Mediterranean philosophers vs other Germans, and how he also feels that the cultural differences make German work mostly mediocre, and Mediterranean work excellent. This is the idea behind his book "The Gay Science," e.g. The Joyful Wisdom or The Joyous Science.