Common Sense Means
politics and me
Why did I choose politics as a profession?
The answer is as simple as the question. Since I was young, the same social problems that my family, neighbors and friends constantly complained about, 47 years later, still exist.
What's more, things have gotten worse to the point that my people no longer even work to maintain a basic standard of living, but are doing everything possible to obtain the necessary resources and not starve.
In Venezuela, my people are surviving without living
In addition, meanwhile, in other countries they are in the process of improving the engines of their economy through innovation and new technologies or optimizing industrial processes.
Politicians in Venezuela have not only created one of the worst economies in the world, but also widespread poverty, normalized violence, and runaway social inequality. We are facing a new map of poverty and chaos never seen in our country.
For example, on the one hand, Venezuela is one of the countries with the largest oil reserves in the world and, on the other, due to the lack of drinking water, electricity and vaccines, contagious diseases that had been eradicated –such as diphtheria and measles– and viruses – such as dengue, chikungunya and zika – have reappeared. To this we add the great inefficiency of the Government to combat COVID-19, a virus that has sickened and caused the death of thousands of Venezuelans, including many of my friends.
The saddest thing is that no one has taken immediate action to remedy or correct this serious problem. Similarly, it is the implementation of survival programs, through which people have access to a basic food and health system that is sustainable over time.
As a result, my country, Venezuela, used to export oil, and now it exports our human capital, due to the forced immigration of millions of Venezuelans who cry out for a helping hand to help alleviate this sad and painful tragedy.
I have always said, in politics you have to do what is right and not what is easy. Doing the right thing is usually hard, and that's why politicians have always failed.
After all, it does not matter who is in government or who assumes the role of the opposition. Both sides have always been inefficient and highly corrupt. The governments of the day have always failed, and on the other hand, you have an opposition with the same monotonous and repetitive rhetoric. They call themselves the "gladiators" of democracy and fervent fighters against corruption; and once people "take the bait" again and elect them, nothing changes. Statism and continuity become a priority. Meanwhile, poverty and the recycling of bad political talent begin their new cycle.
That has been the turbulent and sad tragedy of politics in Venezuela. The politicians of Venezuela have never done a commendable job. In fact, every time I read the harrowing testimonies of my people, I take a deep breath, look up at the sky and ask myself the same question: in a dynamic world, increasingly competitive, complicated and constantly evolving, in a world that continues to advance and it does not wait for anyone, how is my country going to achieve that transformation that I have wanted all my life with the same “dinosaurs” as always in power?
My proposal
Sometimes complex problems require a simple solution. What I propose and what my country needs is a mixed government, made up of professionals from branches other than politics and politicians by vocation and not necessarily by profession. Politicians who not only tour the country during electoral campaign times, but also regularly visit the people who elected them to public office and help them solve their problems. Politicians who listen with seriousness, respect, patience and empathy to the real life problems of Venezuelans. Politicians who understand that social problems exist to solve them and not to deepen them. Creative politicians, capable of generating new ideas and practical solutions to solve complex problems.
Venezuela needs leaders with a new vision of politics. For example, leaders who spend 50% of their time doing politics and the other 50% learning how the real world works outside of politics.
I am a firm believer that, for a politician to be successful in his public administration, he must have his ears and his heart attached to three places at the same time: 1) to politics, 2) to the needs of Venezuelans and 3 ) to the real world outside the political system. In other words, political leaders who have a great sense of social sensitivity.
If the new generation of politicians wants to regain the trust and respect of their citizens, they have to commit to working together with the idea of creating a new paradigm of public management that effectively solves social problems instead of creating them. They have to become the solution and not the problem.
How to create an efficient bureaucracy in Venezuela?
It is simple; Apart from what I have already mentioned, we must put emphasis on three areas:
Create a culture of servant leadership.
Create successful and high-impact work teams.
Learn the art of executing strategies.
I will explain each of them:
1) Gather the best human talent possible to create a culture of servant leadership. That puts human rights and the common good of Venezuelans before the interests of politicians to finally create an equitable and balanced Venezuela, where no one is excluded, where the focus is the well-being and progress of each Venezuelan family and of our country. Servant leaders who promote peace through example.
2) Distinguish between working together and working as a team, with a common vision, to achieve established goals. It is one thing to organize a group of people to work or collaborate as individuals and another to create a team to function as such, as a team. The work team with a common vision will always generate better results than the grouping of individuals. But, for this unification to be possible, it is essential to create a work atmosphere where errors are seen as a setback and not as the end of the world; where mistakes are celebrated, corrected and become a learning tool instead of denying and hiding them.
A place is necessary where everyone who is part of the organization has the full freedom to ask questions without fear of being humiliated, discriminated against, harassed or considered of less value than the rest of their co-workers; where conflicts are resolved through dialogue and collaboration and not through intimidation, force, pointing fingers and insults.
That is the dividing line between winning and losing. It is about promoting dialogue, consensus, collaboration and trust in a healthy and productive work atmosphere.
3) We must learn the art of executing strategies to turn them into successful projects. We live in a world where knowing how to execute strategies is more important than ever. The creation of a good strategy and knowing how to execute it is essential for the advancement and progress of any organization or nation. A strategy or an idea without a good execution plan is just a wish and has no value in our society.
However, universities, business leaders, and politicians, to name a few, place more emphasis on designing strategies than on how to execute them. And the few who do try write a "sophisticated" and messy manual that those in charge of the project do not understand. It is extremely difficult to be able to execute a strategy when those in charge of the project do not know or do not understand the purpose of the project.
A good strategy execution plan goes beyond a simple administrative process, such as planning, organizing, directing and controlling. Apart from this, it also requires a high level of communication, with clear and well-defined goals and rigorous and systematic monitoring of the execution plan. It also requires establishing a system of labor compensation and other types of incentives for those in charge of the project. Also, you need to know the difference between what is urgent and what is important. In general, most of us are programmed to prioritize what is urgent and do not put enough emphasis on the areas of importance of the project to keep the project moving forward.
Now, many of you may be wondering: “What is the importance or how does a government and a country benefit from a good strategy execution plan?”. When a government specializes in strategy execution, it gains a competitive advantage. For those unfamiliar with the concept, a competitive advantage is simply what a country can do better than other countries. In other words, it is what distinguishes us, positively, from other countries.
In summary, the benefits of knowing how to execute strategies are many. For example, it helps increase the income of both the Government and Venezuelan families; encourages the development of new products and services and the improvement of their distribution; generates credibility and trust inside and outside our territory; strengthens the investment climate, both domestic and foreign; it generates political and economic stability and prevents the deterioration of the labor market and the standard of living of our citizens.
In short, knowing how to execute all the goals that we set for ourselves is part of excellent governance and public management, and what will ultimately transform our country into one of the best in Latin America.
To conclude, one of the reasons for the long record of political failure in Venezuela is that, apart from the deep corruption that has always existed in our country, politicians do not have the slightest idea of how to successfully manage and complete a project.
They are fascinated by talking about strategies and the problems of Venezuelans, but nobody makes forceful decisions to fulfill the number of promises they make during electoral campaign times.
Politicians “fill the ears” of Venezuelans with phrases like “This government has to change”, but none of them talk about changing themselves. When it comes to criticism, everyone needs to improve, except them.
That is why I entered politics. Social problems are not politicized, they are resolved.
My most sincere and profound thanks to all my readers.
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