I'd argue that Germans don't do it half-assed, but they do worry about the irrelevant details, over-complicate things and try to shift responsibility as much as possible.
It's true that they tend to miss the big picture, but their attention to details is their strength. In my line of work we take german stuff because they took care of the annoying little details that competitors just ignored.
On the other side when they finally accept to take responsibility over something, you can count on them to do the job! Unfortunately you already lost months negotiating it, you would have been better off doing it yourself.
On the other side when they finally accept to take responsibility over something, you can count on them to do the job! Unfortunately you already lost months negotiating it, you would have been better off doing it yourself.