Except the immediate counterattack doctrine was an efficent and effective way to deal more casulties to the Entente (Hit them when they haven't had a chance to repair and dig back into the trench line), and prevent having to spend so much time, labor, and resources re-building their complex layered defense fortifications over and over again in a steadily-retreating line. By preventing their enemies from ever steadily seizing land and being able to set up an effective staging ground for further offensives, Germany manpower and strategic man-hours were better economized in the long term.
---
But for my suggestion, maybe there's a stronger effort to stage an offensive against the Italians on Germany's part earlier? Removing the pressure on A-H would allow the Habsburgs to keep more of their older and younger population at home, reducing the economic decay from their pulling into the army and increased domestic/ethnic tensions, and better deploy their more proffesional formations and strategic resources (Like artillery) to act as force-multipliers on other fronts. The dropping out of Italy from the war would also be another big knock Entente moral and open up their markets from which the CP can purchase resources using German's gold reserves, extending the time their economies can run long for the trickle of resorces coming from the east to steadily increase.
Speaking of the East, adopting a policy of starting to establish locally-managed (if CP dominated) administration during the earlier months/years, rather than keeping it under total military management until the offical Russian surrender, would do wonders for the immediate post-war stability and logistical situation for the B-L states post-October Revolution. Though it means fewer resources for the home front during the active fighting, it DOES mean you'd have a more efficent system of resource production since you haven't eaten the metaphorical local seed corn and would have greater good will from the local elites, at least (and less active hostility from the common folk... even if its only in the form of passive acceptance), which could be fed back into the war industry and would likely reduce general Red agitation and increase the effectiveness of "Local Defense Forces" under German generalship with the organization and training to nip potential rebellions in the bud. With that, and maybe re-routing some of the heavier elements down south to Salonika to stunt the Entente attempt to push the Salonika front when you're pulling troops back West, and you widdle down the effectiveness of the blockade (due to access to resources on the continent) and the number of possible fronts the Entente even has, allowing Germany to fortify the Western Front to the nines and extend the war for the required few years.