Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

resourcefulness

German translation:

(kreative) Denk- und Lösungsstrategien

Added to glossary by Ulrike Lieder (X)
Jun 11, 2002 18:41
22 yrs ago
English term

resourcefulness

English to German Bus/Financial Human Resources human resources / evaluations / recommendations
This is a term that keeps haunting me. It's one of the buzz words in US corporate speak and describes a person's ability to think for him/herself (even outside the box if need be), to find and utilize resources to help him/her in solving problems. In other words, someone who is creative and imaginative in his/her thinking, "full of resources" as it were - something very positive.

The dictionary translations of Einfallsreichtum, Findigkeit, Wendigkeit are simply not sufficient as they generally describe only one particular aspect of the underlying meaning and may, in some cases, even carry a somewhat negative connotation in German.

This term often creeps up in questionnaires, evaluations, recommendation forms, etc., and it is often not possible to launch into a lengthy laundry list of what resourcefulness entails.

So, what I'm looking for are ideas/suggestions on how to describe this trait in German, hopefully in a word or two.

Many thanks in advance!
Change log

Jun 17, 2005 13:59: NGK changed "Field" from "Other" to "Bus/Financial" , "Field (specific)" from "(none)" to "Human Resources"

Proposed translations

+5
21 mins
Selected

kreative Lösungskompetenz (?)

Frankly, I don't think the word you're looking for exists. Also, I wouldn't worry too much about negative connotations -- resourcefulness can also have a negative flavor in certain contexts. I'd stay clear of Wendigkeit, but I don't see anything wrong with Einfallsreichtum (or Ideenreichtum) or Findigkeit. Maybe you could use produktiv as a modifier.

And then there's always kreative Lösungskompetenz ... it sounds interesting, if nothing else.
Peer comment(s):

agree brute (X)
21 mins
agree Endre Both
26 mins
agree Caro Maucher : Hihi...
38 mins
agree Kathi Stock
9 hrs
agree Inge Festesen (X) : good idea, whether it exists or not
10 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks to all. Points and a special thank you go to Norbert for a truly resourceful answer - pun intended :-) His answer, in combination with a phrase I read today in a German>English question (Denkfertigkeiten und Denkstrategien), will provide some truly viable solutions."
+3
18 mins

Einfallsreichtum

-

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Note added at 2002-06-11 19:04:01 (GMT)
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also: Erfindungskraft, Geistesgegenwart, Geschick!
Peer comment(s):

agree Сергей Лузан : Einfallsreichtum, Erfindungskraft, Geschick (manchmal) ß 100%.
23 mins
Thanx, Sergey!
agree Barbara Lawson : absolut!
6 hrs
Thanx, Allemande!
agree Rolf Klischewski, M.A. : Those ever-resourceful Germans! (C;
12 hrs
Thanx, Rolf!
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47 mins

Erfindungsgabe, Genialität, Schöpfergeist, Schöpferische Begabung or Kraft, Schaffungskraft

Erfindungsgabe, Genialität, Schöpfergeist, Schöpferische Begabung or Kraft, Schaffungskraft

I guess I can't seem to think of the right word either but at least I am beginning to think about it too!
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4 hrs

innere Quellen

Seine inneren Quellen kann man anzapfen wenn man sie braucht. Ich glaube dies schliesst alles ein.
Peer comment(s):

neutral Steffen Walter : Dem angegebenen Kontext nach geht es nicht nur um innere Quellen, sondern auch um äußere Ressourcen, die man sich zunutze macht.
7 hrs
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10 hrs

Geschicklichkeit

Resourcefulness made "ingenuity" pop up n my head, and the above is one of the terms offered by Muret - Sanders.
Peer comment(s):

neutral Steffen Walter : rather relates to manual work, trades, craftsmanship (e.g. as used in "handwerkliche Geschicklichkeit")
1 hr
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