I've also noticed Sanderson's somewhat clinical writing methodology, but to be honest, it's one of my favorite things about his work. Maybe that's because I also have a tendency to write that way.

As a reader you can see the threads he's working with. You're not in the dark about anything. Yet somehow, time and again, he manages to surprise everyone with how those threads tie together.

I think a big part of his success also comes from a willingness to leave details for later. Too many fantasy authors want to info-dump because they have this great idea and want to share that vision with the reader. But the reader may not be invested at that point.

So instead what Sanderson does is give you the essentials straight off. For example, in Way of Kings, you get a pretty firm grasp of the Assassin in White's magical capabilities and limitations within just a few pages, then over the remaining thousands of pages in the series you slowly gain details such as where these powers came from and how they were initially intended to be used.

I find his work very inspiring.