Voting Today, Chicago Maroon endorses Akinin's Candidacy!

Polls open at 9 AM at sg.uchicago.edu

The following is an excerpt from the Chicago Maroon Newspaper's April 20th Editorial:

Undergraduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees

For the office of undergraduate liaison to the board of trustees, the Maroon endorses second-year David Akinin. Akinin, who ran for the same position last year, showed a thorough understanding of the liaison’s somewhat limited role and demonstrated a keen interest in SG affairs. Akinin has been active on a number of SG committees and has considerable knowledge of issues pertinent to the student body. The Maroon was impressed by Akinin’s ability to convey his ideas, and we expect that he will be a passionate and articulate voice for student concerns.

To read more visit http://www.chicagomaroon.com/2010/4/20/2010-student-government-endorsements

My Candidacy as Undergraduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees

Dear Friends of the University Community,

I am running for the position of Undergraduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees, and I welcome you to participate actively in these year's elections by voting on April 20th-22nd at sg.uchicago.edu.

I’m an economics and international relations major in the college, raised in Venezuela, but moved to Miami in 2003, where I served as President of Krop's Student Government and Liaison to the School Board. I am running for Liaison to the Board with a passion for progress and fair representation. I have actively participated in SG and the Chicago Coalition of Colleges- served on two vital funding committees that benefit the way our RSOs pursue their interests on campus- the Uncommon Fund and Annual Allocations, as well as CORSO, which approves new RSOs on campus.

The Liaison is appointed to bring our voice to the Board of Trustees. Other than meeting with Administrators and Student Government, the Liaison is required to attend the Board’s quarterly meetings. Since the Trustees have busy schedules, by the time they come to the meetings, discussions on issues have already occurred and thoughts been shaped. What’s worth having a voice, if we will only be heard when the conversations have already taken place?

When elected, I will bring us to the discussions early on, and I will create a website through which issues will be available to everyone in the University community so as to include them in the process. I’ve already met with Andrew Alper, the recently appointed chairman to the Board and he’s willing to work with us. My platform: A voice, a website, transparency, support for increasing financial aid (UNDERGRAD and GRADUATE FUNDING) and diminishing budget cuts, encourage tactful expansion and strengthen relations with Hyde Park. I plan on increasing communication channels by tapping into our most impactful resource- Advisers. Through them, I'll send out surveys that target specific issues on campus to fairly represent the opinion of our student body.

I understand this may be a one man role, but nonetheless it is not a one man show. As early as elected, I'd start working on establishing relations with committee members, the slate and administration. I believe in expanding the role of the Liaison rather than aiming for a vote, yet first we must increase our impact where we have been given a chance to speak!

I hope to be able to work with the Chicago Maroon to publish an article once a quarter briefing my fellow students on my endeavors. I am for a wider recognition of SG presence and as such will push endeavors to get more access to students, by having elected officers present at big events, surveys through advisors, and much more.

Please message me to learn more about my campaign!

Below an interview with the Maroon from my initial candidacy (last year):

Addition [4/20]: For a current interview visit www.chicagomaroon.com

What do you think the role of the liaison is when it comes to political disputes of the University (such as the union contract, or divestment from Darfur in previous years)?
I think the Liaison is elected to represent the Interests of the Student Body to the Board. If there’s a considerable amount of Students Petitioning for a specific issue, that has the potential of affecting student and/or campus life, is it the Liaison’s responsibility to be completely effective in conveying their purpose. It is part of the Liaison’s role to guide the students through their ways of expressing discontent or desire for change. Even if the Liaison was unsupportive of a certain issue, his function would be to make himself available and representative of all students for equal.

Do you support adding a voting student member to the board of trustees?
No. I believe that we (the students) were given the opportunity to sit on the Board to brief and shape policy, issues and agendas. It takes more than two decades of age to understand the complexities of every action and policy they implement, and therefore, it should be left to the Trustees to make the ‘executive decisions’. I think that instead of focusing our manpower in pushing the board to give us a vote, students could be bringing about much greater change by spending time understanding our community and campus, their interaction, and the economic drift that changes it on a daily basis

What organizations have you been involved in on campus?
Sit on the Annual Allocations Committee (Student Gov), President at Chabad; Student Rep. for the Coalition of Chicago Colleges; Info Primary for MUNUC; Assistant Chair for ChoMUN; Treasurer of Jewish Action; Rep. for PSAC; Board Member of the Uncommon Fund, Member of the Gilbert F. White Leadership Program; Student Government Proxy, Entrepreneurship Club, Inter-House Council

What types of events do you think you could provide as liaison to give students more access to the board of trustees?
I’ve attended this year’s open forums with the President and some Vice-Presidents of our University, as well as a Brown Bag lunch with the newly appointed Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Andrew Alper. I would definitely keep these types of events coming. To give students the opportunity to first-hand interact with their administrators and trustees is a much stronger cause than attempting to gather data to represent them. In addition, I would hold office hours once a week and publish them on a website that I have promised to make, where all issues and BOT plans would be published for Students to view, comment on and cyber-discuss. This position requires that one reaches out to students in every way possible, and as long as I am elected, the University community will see my efforts focused on reaching out extensively to the student body through online forms, blogs, emails, surveys, by coming up to them in campus to talk or survey them. I have proposed to utilize our academic advisors to distribute quarterly surveys for students to answer. This is the best way of reaching out to undergraduates if one truly seeks to be representative of the whole.
The position of Liaison is geared towards representing undergraduates at our institution, but seeing that Graduate students are not represented in this year’s election, I understand that the focus of the position changes to a great extent. We NEED to reach out more to each and EVERY one of our schools. People have things to say, ideas to implement and others to disagree about. Graduate funding is a huge issue In campus and we need to tackle it in our primary agenda. For this, I’d hold public meetings with Students at both the Graduate School and Undergraduate level to interact more firmly and share concerns.
A Liaison should tie together students and their Student Government and not just focus on the Board of Trustees. Most of this position is about establishing relations on behalf of the students with Trustees and administrators. It is through these relationships that the Liaison can truly make change, bring about progress and let students truly be interested in what’s going on at their University. Student Government doesn’t do a great job in portraying a presence in campus, and one of my goals is to do so. Let’s make SG popular, desirable, liked- a government for the students by the students.

Do you plan on studying abroad or take time off in the next year?
No. I will be matriculating at the University all three quarters in Chicago and giving my best to this position

What do you believe were the last liaisons' biggest successes and biggest failures in the last year? Where you feel they failed, what would you have done differently?
The Liaison did a great job with the immediate response to a sexual assault case that had developed in the University by developing the Working Group on the Sexual Assault Policy. It demonstrates the sort of action that a Liaison must take in such instances- gather a group of students representative of our UC and produce a document/argument that would be used appropriately by Trustees and administrators. The liaison had a great relationship with the Graduate Liaison, which strengthened their voice.
Nevertheless, there was much more work that could have been done- lobbying, representing, showing up. A great majority of our student body doesn’t know who our Liaison is; a great majority of them doesn’t know what a Liaison does. ‘Transparency’ the word everyone runs behind, is worthless if one isn’t going to be visible in the first place. I would have reached out to students more often than by email letting them know that there would be a brown bag lunch with x and y. If the position was all about setting up dates for lunches, we would be running to become facilitators, not liaisons.

Why should older students trust a second-year to understand the complex issues of our campus?
This is a job that requires building relationships, and I am looking forward to strengthen them over the years. I have dedicated this year to understanding our university, Student Government and our administration. Of the candidates, I am the most involved in campus and with Student Government, its funding bodies and the Chicago Coalition of Colleges. I understand how our funding bodies work and I’ve served in Annual Allocations and the Uncommon Fund this year, positions that few students, oftentimes seniors fill. I have the maturity and capacity it takes to establish relationships with Trustees and Administrators and expect to be taken seriously. I am the founder of Shoes4Africa, Inc. (DBA Help4Africa), a non-profit that sends shoes to impoverished communities in Nigeria and the Ivory Coast, www.World2Save.com and www.onejewonestory.com. I was the President of a High School in Miami that enrolls over 4,000 students, and the Liaison to the School Board of Miami-Dade. Students should feel assured that by electing me, they are putting someone on the job that cares about what will happen to this position next year, someone who will keep his word and be ready to be accountable- someone with a passion and a will.

Is there anything else that you feel is important for us to know about yourself or your candidacy?
I’m an economics and international relations major in the college, born in Venezuela, but lived for the past seven years in Miami. I am fluent in Spanish, French and Hebrew. Although I did not win the elections for Student Government at the beginning of the year, I was the only one of the non-elected candidates to attend all Student Government meetings, and even proxy for every one of my class’s representatives various times, including some from other classes. I understand bureaucratic systems, but better yet, I know this position is not about what you can do in the meetings, but outside of them.

Entrepreneurs International Challenge: Our London Adventure

February 19th, we landed at London-Heathrow. This, in fact, was my first trip to Europe, and I was lucky enough to be going with three great friends from the University of Chicago: Pedro Sanchez de Lozada, Guimar Vaca Sittic and Rodrigo Blandon.

This trip, unlike others I plan to take some day, wasn't solely for the touristic purpose; we were taking ten days off from school to compete in the final round of the Entrepreneurs International Challenge at the London School of Economics.

Guimar, David, Rodrigo, Pedro

The final round of EPIC, www.lse-epic.com, consisted of 9 teams from Malaysia, India, UK, Netherlands, Canada, Argentina and USA. We were the American team: four Latinos from Venezuela, Chile, Argentina and El Salvador, respectively.

In any case, we landed on a Friday, and the competition wasn't until the following Monday. The excitement took us around, made of us better friends, had us experience new routes, meet new people, see new things, taste new flavors, and cheer louder and stronger than we ever had before. To us, the fact that we were already in London, funded by the Dean of Students, meant we were already winners.

We saw the Big Ben, rode the London Eye, admired the view from the London Bridge, had Beer at the pubs, called out for the Queen from right outside the Buckingham Palace, stayed at cozy hostels, and I even experienced a beautiful Shabbat (different from what I had ever been to) in the heart of London.

Martin Kelly, IBM and David Akinin

London Eye and Big Ben, from London Bridge

The competition started on Monday. We were intimidated by some teams, but there was something inside of us, perhaps a strong bond we built over the weekend like we couldn't have at the University in two years, that reassured us, inspired us and made us feel like brothers.

It was very similar to the Apprentice, had four parts: a Sales Challenge, a Strategy Challenge, a Marketing Challenge and finally, the Social Enterprise Challenge.

Day 1, Sales Challenge we sold Mother's Day cards in the streets. Our strategy: focus on the London School of Economics strip. We sold to students, professors, staff. We didn't take no for an answer. We'd walk blocks with people until we made a sale. Persistence proved to champion: 168 Sterling Pounds.

Day 2, Strategy Challenge we presented a business venture based in El Salvador called Somos Soya (See blogpost about Entrepreneur Idol 2009). A soymilk production plant that would establish a breakfast supplement program for kids in public schools. We got full funding: 284,000 Sterling Pounds.

Day 3, Marketing Challenge 7digital.com came looking for ideas and we were eager to give them. They're in the process of launching a new and exciting product: "Locker Plus" and wanted marketing insight. We made a powerful presentation on Prezi.com, renamed the product, created a new image, gave Search Engine Optimization advice and pay-per-click marketing suggestions, and dressed up Guimar as a Cloud (see: cloud computing) and had him talk to London about getting on the Cloud... the judges voted for our proposal!

Day 4, Social Enterprise Challenge seeducation.com sponsored this event. We used Somos Soya, and added to it an additional Social Component- The Chutney Cooperative. As usual, we gave out soymilk samples, gave an in-depth, passionate presentation, supplemental materials and a business plan. But that wasn't it; we had to collect signatures in the streets (over 130), funding from random people who supported our project and win the vote of other competing teams ranking presentations.

Rodrigo, Pedro, Guimar, David

We won! We placed first in every challenge, accumulating a total of 40 out of 40 possible points-the first time a team got perfect scoring in the international challenge.

The team and Richard Farleigh

It was an "EPIC" experience for us all! We made friends around the world, celebrated at the Penthouse in London, made our country and university proud, but most importantly took home with us an experience that will mark our lives forever.

Cheers!

A weekend with the Guillens: White Sox Fest 2010

Last weekend, my brother Arie and I, were invited to spend the weekend with the Guillens at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago, where the Sox Fest 2010 took place. When it comes to having a good time, I must admit it, it happens with the Guillens.

Arie Akinin and Ozzie Guillen

Arie had joined them a day earlier, so when I got to the hotel on Friday I asked him to meet me in the lobby and show me around a bit. Everywhere we went, people would say "there goes Ozzie's body guard, Arie"! I couldn't believe my ears, eyes... In less than a day he was almost as famous as Ozzie.

Arie with Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the White Sox and Bulls

Anyways, I greeted Ozzie and Ibis, his wife, and later on their kids, Ozzie Jr, Oney and Ozney. What an amazing family I must say- the love in the air, the spice in their speech, the comedy in their dialogue, the kindness in their home, all come out to light seconds after you meet them.

With the Guillen Family at Brazzaz

To sum the weekend in a blog post would be a very difficult post. From renting out night clubs and partying all night with Ozzie Guillen and Freddy Garcia, dining at the finest places, munching with the top players at the PH of the Palmer House... to a warm good-bye, this is definitely a weekend my brother Arie and I will not forget...

Minnie Minoso (First African American Player in 1951 in Chicago) and David Akinin

By the way, you should all be on the lookout for the acclaimed www.ozzietalks.com !

Ozzie Jr. Guillen, Arie Akinin, Oney Guillen
David Akinin, Freddy Garcia, Gledys Garcia

____, Freddy Garcia, Arie Akinin, Pitching Coach, Ozzie Guillen

The Tel Aviv Cluster

Jews are a famously accomplished group. They make up 0.2 percent of the world population, but 54 percent of the world chess champions, 27 percent of the Nobel physics laureates and 31 percent of the medicine laureates.

Jews make up 2 percent of the U.S. population, but 21 percent of the Ivy League student bodies, 26 percent of the Kennedy Center honorees, 37 percent of the Academy Award-winning directors, 38 percent of those on a recent Business Week list of leading philanthropists, 51 percent of the Pulitzer Prize winners for nonfiction.

In his book, “The Golden Age of Jewish Achievement,” Steven L. Pease lists some of the explanations people have given for this record of achievement. The Jewish faith encourages a belief in progress and personal accountability. It is learning-based, not rite-based.

Most Jews gave up or were forced to give up farming in the Middle Ages; their descendants have been living off of their wits ever since. They have often migrated, with a migrant’s ambition and drive. They have congregated around global crossroads and have benefited from the creative tension endemic in such places.

No single explanation can account for the record of Jewish achievement. The odd thing is that Israel has not traditionally been strongest where the Jews in the Diaspora were strongest. Instead of research and commerce, Israelis were forced to devote their energies to fighting and politics.

Milton Friedman used to joke that Israel disproved every Jewish stereotype. People used to think Jews were good cooks, good economic managers and bad soldiers; Israel proved them wrong.

But that has changed. Benjamin Netanyahu’s economic reforms, the arrival of a million Russian immigrants and the stagnation of the peace process have produced a historic shift. The most resourceful Israelis are going into technology and commerce, not politics. This has had a desultory effect on the nation’s public life, but an invigorating one on its economy.

Tel Aviv has become one of the world’s foremost entrepreneurial hot spots. Israel has more high-tech start-ups per capita than any other nation on earth, by far. It leads the world in civilian research-and-development spending per capita. It ranks second behind the U.S. in the number of companies listed on the Nasdaq. Israel, with seven million people, attracts as much venture capital as France and Germany combined.

As Dan Senor and Saul Singer write in “Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle,” Israel now has a classic innovation cluster, a place where tech obsessives work in close proximity and feed off each other’s ideas.

Because of the strength of the economy, Israel has weathered the global recession reasonably well. The government did not have to bail out its banks or set off an explosion in short-term spending. Instead, it used the crisis to solidify the economy’s long-term future by investing in research and development and infrastructure, raising some consumption taxes, promising to cut other taxes in the medium to long term. Analysts at Barclays write that Israel is “the strongest recovery story” in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Israel’s technological success is the fruition of the Zionist dream. The country was not founded so stray settlers could sit among thousands of angry Palestinians in Hebron. It was founded so Jews would have a safe place to come together and create things for the world.

This shift in the Israeli identity has long-term implications. Netanyahu preaches the optimistic view: that Israel will become the Hong Kong of the Middle East, with economic benefits spilling over into the Arab world. And, in fact, there are strands of evidence to support that view in places like the West Bank and Jordan.

But it’s more likely that Israel’s economic leap forward will widen the gap between it and its neighbors. All the countries in the region talk about encouraging innovation. Some oil-rich states spend billions trying to build science centers. But places like Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv are created by a confluence of cultural forces, not money. The surrounding nations do not have the tradition of free intellectual exchange and technical creativity.

For example, between 1980 and 2000, Egyptians registered 77 patents in the U.S. Saudis registered 171. Israelis registered 7,652.

The tech boom also creates a new vulnerability. As Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic has argued, these innovators are the most mobile people on earth. To destroy Israel’s economy, Iran doesn’t actually have to lob a nuclear weapon into the country. It just has to foment enough instability so the entrepreneurs decide they had better move to Palo Alto, where many of them already have contacts and homes. American Jews used to keep a foothold in Israel in case things got bad here. Now Israelis keep a foothold in the U.S.

During a decade of grim foreboding, Israel has become an astonishing success story, but also a highly mobile one.

Source: DAVID BROOKS is as an op-ed columnist for the NY Times

The Land of Gold, Milk and Honey

This past winter holiday season, I embarked on my first trip to Israel through the Jewish Learning Exchange Program. The experience is ever reminiscent in my mind, the memories flow from corner to corner-this one's going to be an unforgettable one!

Every step I took in 'the land' felt like recreating history... I heard once more the stories about the exile, the battle between David and Goliath, the creation and destruction of the temples, and many more. Yet, this time the stories were filled with evidence, with sites to see, rocks to touch, remnants to put together.

The array of feelings felt throughout the 3 weeks is inexplicable through a blog- the energy that flowed, the excitement that drove- all things I'd never felt before.

With cousin Paul Levi and his son Asaf

At the City of David

Wall of Lament

Tito Isaac Benarroch, Tita Luna y Tito Alberto Benzadon

Adios a un viejo amigo... desde Jerusalem

Hace unos dias me entere de la tragica partida de un amigo del alma- David Daniel. El y yo, eramos como grapa y engrapadora: juntos para todos lados, y con nuestra union traiamos mas union. Los payasos, los romanticos, los echadores de broma, los cantantes, los poetas: el Duo David.

Cuando primeramente me entere de la noticia, una pelicula de experiencias paso por mi cabeza. Estas mismas me han perseguido por los ultimos dias ayudandome a apreciar lo grande que era.

Despues de haberme mudado a los Estados Unidos, David Daniel y yo perdimos contacto, hasta hace como un ano. Me acuerdo de finalmente haber hablado con el por facebook:

Me dijo: "voy a empezar administracion de empresas en la universidad santa maria! pero eso de la beca esta muy bueno chamo, tu te la mereces! mis hermanos estan bien! muy bien, tengo uno nuevo! el menos de 3 añit...os! el que sale conmigo en la foto! es tremendo pero se le quiere, y a mi mami bunisimo como siempre en lo suyo! el catalogo de ropa!y gian mauro tambien esta muy bien q esa era el menor que tu llegaste a conocer!!! mi hermana tambien en lo suyo, es chef! y bueno solo falto yo superarme y crearme nuevas metas!, me encanta lo tuyo, veo que has tenido mucho exito! como estan tus padres! y repito, cuando vienes! cuando voy a tener el honor de beberme algo con el proximo presidente de los estados unidos"

David siempre fue un hombre de y por su familia. Si alguien siempre hablaba de cuanto queria a su hermanito y hermana mayor a la misma vez, era David. A Gian Mauro y Laura capaz los conoci en una o dos ocaciones, pero David Daniel hablaba de ellos como si fueran parte de nuestro grupo. La pena que llevo por dentro es grande al haber perdido este amigo, pero mas aun en saber que su familia a perdido al gran hijo y hermano que el fue...

Un ano despues, hace como dos semanas, me desperte despues de haber tenido un sueno algo extrano, donde el me preguntaba por que teniamos tanto tiempo sin hablar? Al levantarme lo contacte de immediato por facebook y nos volvimos a poner al tanto de nuestras vidas. David ya habia encontrado lo que hace un ano llamaba sus metas- se iria a estudiar a la Universidad de Miami; ya estaba en el papeleo y todo, solo faltaba tiempo. Tiempo que este 13 de Diciembre llego a un fin...

Una experiencia que jamas olvidare con David Daniel: El concurso de Yom Yerushalayim cuando estabamos en 6to grado.

David Daniel y yo nos encontrabamos en clases de computacion en hebreo cuando oimos que esa misma tarde habria una competencia de bailes y canciones, el festival Yom Yerushalayim de Hebraica. David Daniel y yo sabiamos que no teniamos chance de ganar, y que decenas de grupos de todo primaria se estaban preparando desde hace semanas para competir. Sin embargo, llame a mi mama para que nos traiga dos camisas brillantes de mi casa- una vinotinto y una dorada. David Daniel pidio su guitarra! Escribimos una cancion que aun conservo en algun rincon de mi cuarto en nuestro punyo y letra, titulada "Oh Yerushalayim".

Ese dia con gran orgullo y corage nos paramos en el amplio escenario del auditorio de la primaria en Caracas y cantamos nuestra cancion. Que sorpresa nos llevamos cuando nos dieron el 2do premio! Fue un premio de popularidad; nuestros amigos gritaban nuestros nombres y aplaudian fuerte- los jueces vieron como el animo de ese duo llamaba a la gente! Entre ellos me acuerdo sin falta a Aaron Serfaty saltando en el medio de todos y a mi hermano Abraham, quien acababa de salir de clases del liceo y ollo que el Duo David estaba en show!

Ironico capaz que nuestro debut haya sido con una cancion sobre Yerushalayim y hoy me despido de el desde el mismo lugar del cual nuestra cancion habla- Jerusalem. Es mi primera vez en esta tierra, y compruebo lo que nuestra cancion relata- la belleza y harmonia de HaAretz. Escribire una copia entera de la cancion y la firmare con nuestros nombres para ponerla en el muro de los lamentos.

La cancion iba algo asi:

Oh Yerushalayim no llores mas por mi
Oh Yerushalayim te apoyo desde aqui!

Yerushalayim , mi vida
Yerushalayim, mi amor
Yerushalayim, estas en mi corazon

Ahiti ve Yerushalayim va shana she abar
ve raiti eretz, eretz yafa

Yerushalayim, mi vida
Yerushalayim, mi amor
Yerushalayim, estas en mi corazon
...
la termino luego...

Zichronot Libraja David Daniel..

Second Place at Entrepreneur Idol USA 2009

Every year over 30 teams reach the semi-finals of Entrepreneur Idol USA (http://nuei.net), an elevator, idea pitch competition which provides students with the opportunity to express their innovative vision and creativity. Emphasizing students’ ability to succinctly deliver their business idea and capture the interest of the audience, Entrepreneur Idol hopes to encourage student innovators to pursue their dreams.

I went in with a venture similar to the one that got me to the finals last year- a business dealing with soy. Soy, soymilk, engineering, nutritional programs- all my fathers' passions instilled on to me.

This year, a friend and I pitched a venture in El Salvador: a soymilk production plant that would supply 2,280 cups per day to children in public schools through guaranteed government contracts. The soybeans we'd get from the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (www.wishh.org), and with my father's mentorship and expertise, we managed to secure a deal for a low-cost, high-tech plant from Prosoya in Canada. The venture would break even in the first month.

We worked hard in putting the business idea together, reaching out to partners and securing contracts, but I think it was the passion that we carried through the rounds that most impressed judges like Emily Miao, PhD from MBHB and Jeff Smith, CEO of Clarity Consulting, one of the main sponsors of the competition.

I, along with three other peers: Pedro Sanchez de Lozada, Rodrigo Blandon and Guimar Vaca Sittic are putting together a business plan to compete at the University of Washington's Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition.

Unos dichos Venezolanos... y sus origenes.

Esto es algo que me consegui hace poco por el internet, que vale la pena compartir. A continuación comparto con ustedes un post acerca de los orígenes de algunos vocablos populares y expresiones criollas, que caracterizan el código lingüístico del pueblo venezolano y, en especial, el del gentilicio zuliano. Zulia, tercer, estado en importancia política y primer productor de crudo de Venezuela. Ubicado en el occidente del país, hace parte de la frontera con Colombía.

Colita: Proviene de la época de la independencia. En las batallas, no habí­an tantas bestias (caballos, mulas, etc.) como soldados, no pudiéndose satisfacer a las demandas de toda la tropa. Así que gran parte de la milicia estaba obligada a cubrir grandes distancias a pie. Por eso, cuando les tocaba subir una pendiente, le indicaban al soldado que iba encima de una bestia: "¡Dame una colita!". En otras palabras, dame permiso para agarrarme de la cola del animal para subir con menos esfuerzo la pendiente.

Corotos: Antonio Guzmán Blanco, tres veces Presidente de Venezuela, gran antizuliano, por cierto, vivió en Francia y quedó muy influenciado por los modos y costumbres de la cultura y civilización gala. Siendo diplomático acreditado en ese país, su mujer se aficionó a las pinturas de un pintor francés, llamado Corots. Luego de terminada su misión, regresaron a Venezuela y se establecieron en la ciudad de Caracas. No obstante, se mudaban con mucha frecuencia y Doña Ana Teresa le indicaba nerviosamente a los obreros que embalaban los enseres: "¡Ciudado con los Corots!". Es decir, con las pinturas de aquel pintor francés. Los obreros fueron deshilachando la palabra y la derivaron en el vocablo que hoy conocemos como Corotos.

Espitao: Esmollejao. Corriendo fuerte. Reemplaza a la palabra inglesa: Speed Out. Ej.: ¡Vergación, salí espitao!.

Gatico: En tiempos de inicio de las actividade petroleras, los comisariatos eran casas de abasto, destinadas a satisfacer a la demanda de los expatriado(a)s. Al lado estaban las puertas gigantescas por donde entraba la mercancía, siendo identificadas con la palabra inglesa: Gates. Los venezolanos y venezolanas instalaron al lado o en los alrededores sus tarantines o abastos y le pusieron "Gaticos" (abasto pequeño). Es común escucharlo en Cabimas, La Cañada, La Rita y Maracaibo. Ej.: ¡Voy a comprar azúcar al gatico!.

Guachimanera: Vehículo tipo camioneta, dónde anda "El Guachimán" (Watchman: Vigilante en inglés). Propio de la industria petrolera. Era común en Lagunillas, cuando se hacía una travesura escuchar el grito: ¡Ahí viene la guachimanera!".

Hijo de la panadera: En abril de 1769, la Corona Española del territorio colonizado, hoy Venezuela, recibió una inusual protesta: No estaban de acuerdo con el nombramiento de un joven blanco como Oficial de las Milicias, esgrimiendo como argumento la dudosa reputación de éste porque su madre ejercía el oficio de panadera en Caracas. De allí se ha quedado el proverbio o refrán. Ej.: "A mí no me dieron nada porque soy el hijo de la panadera".

Macundales: Para abrir picas, en el proceso de exploración de la industria de los hidrocarburos en Venezuela, se utilizaron unos machetes ingleses de marca Mc and Dale. Los trabajadores, le dieron el nombre de "macundales" y luego a la hora de terminar la faena, decían: "¡Llegó la hora de recoger los macundales!" y así se ha quedado con el pasar del tiempo.

Pichón: Identifica al venezolano que es diligente o cuando se le pide un esfuerzo ( ¡échale pichón! ). Cuando no había acueductos o no había sistemas de distribución del agua, ésta se extraía con bombas manuales que decían en la palanca: "Push On". Esa palabra derivó en pichón y quería decir: "¡Dale a la bomba!".

On The Importance of Being Customer Centric, a Conversation with the VP of Best Buy

As part of my summer at Google, I've had the opportunity to meet countless people that are reshaping and influencing corporate America this decade.

Bill Thompson, the vice president and territory general manager of Best Buy, came to speak to a small group at Google on the focus on customer centricity. The term refers to the orientation of a company to the needs and behaviors of its customers, rather than internal drivers (such as the quest for short term profit). The Best Buy executive led us through an invigorating presentation that presented the company's key Standard Operating Practices (SOPs), values and vision.


"Stack it high and watch it fly" was one of the key phrases that sparked from Thompson's presentation. Best Buy seeks to have it all, and let customers do the rest. "The business was getting far more complicated than we were able to convey to our client," said the Vice President when describing the business model and complexity.

In the early 2000's Best Buy turned massive wheels to focus their main powers on the "customer centricity" model. It's literally all about serving the customer right, customer service- how well are you listening to the customer, and then meeting his needs.

70% of what a store will do is based on SOPs: stores must connect to communities. A great example for Best Buy was the Tech Tax repeal through the "Geek Squad Rally" and their having joined forces with the local people to seek support. Bill Thompson assures that their strategy is centered on grassroots initiatives, benefiting communities.

Customer Centricity's Goals

Donna Fluss puts it best. A major impediment to building a customer-centric organization is the conflicting goals of the primary customer-facing departments: sales, marketing and service. Somehow, in the drive to achieve goals, each department loses sight of customers as people and sees them only as "objects" that need to be optimized. (See Figure above) Clearly, the obvious answer is to shift the focus back to customers and to align corporate goals. The problem is that when some companies have tried to standardize goals, their revenues decreased, customer satisfaction fell and loyalty dropped off, because the three primary customer-facing groups failed to cooperate.

Best Buy encourages its employees to be innovative and eager to bring about ideas through the "Idea Development Summit" every year. Best Buy gives its employees the freedom to make decisions and take action at the local level. One whole market is dedicated to selling Korean fridges in the branches because their community members in those cities happen to be Korean, and one employee was intuitive enough to identify that opportunity and divert from the SOP. Wait till you hear about the branch manager in California who hired 8 full time sign language proficient employees to target the population attending the 70 sign language schools in the area- revenue increased by 27 percent! Finally, Target's "You Spoke, We Listened" campaign surveyed students on what features they needed and Best Buy ordered the computers on those provisions.

It's all about local growth plans, about developing the communities where they're based and adopting those practices on the national level.

He ended the conversation on this note: "Try to satisfy their needs, selling will happen by on its own".

The Model

Promise Phelon wrote a very interesting article on Inc. magazine, titled "Are you really customer centric?"