Tag Archives: Muslim

Obama, Clinton Most Admired / Water, From the Makers of Coke / The Muslim World’s Diversity

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President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton are the most admired man and woman, a new poll shows. In America, billionaires are giving away the bulk of their fortunes. The world’s largest soda maker is working on water projects in Africa. And an American photographer captures diversity in the Muslim world.

Obama, Clinton Most Admired
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For the third year in a row, a USA Today – Gallup poll has found that Barack Obama is the most admired male public figure. The most admired woman is Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has held the title 15 times since 1992. The survey was conducted between December 10-12, and is based on telephone interviews with a random sample of 1,019 adults. Participants were asked to name the man and woman living anywhere in the world they most admired.

A Billionaires’ Pledge 
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The two richest men in the United States, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, launched The Giving Pledge in June 2010, encouraging other billionaires, in the United States and abroad, to give away the bulk of their fortunes to philanthropic causes. As of December 2010, 57 billionaires have joined their campaign.

Coca-Cola’s Water Projects
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Cola-Cola Company, the world’s largest beverage maker, has formed a partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.N. Development Programme to launch or expand water projects in eight African countries. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.1 billion people—including more than 300 million Africans—do not have access to clean water.

Photo Gallery: The Diversity of the Muslim World
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American photographer Derek Brown, whose work has been featured in The Economist and other major publications, traveled to 28 countries for more than 18 months to photograph the diversity of the Muslim world. An exhibit of his work at the cafe Busboys and Poets in Washington drew raves. Andy Shallal, an Iraqi American and the owner of Busboys and Poets noted, “It makes people realize the Muslim world is beyond the Middle East — it’s far beyond that.”

A Busy Day in Brussels || An Environmental Success Story || A “Paradigm Shift” in Health Care

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Busy in Brussels, Secretary Clinton discusses NATO and Pakistan. There’s hope ahead of a crucial vote in Sudan. A new initiative is spurring interfaith action to improve Muslim countries. China and the U.S. are partnering on air quality. Counterfeit drugs are a pandemic. And finally, experts call for a “paradigm shift” in health care in Africa.


NATO’s 21st Century Threats
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates urges members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to focus on 21st century threats such as terrorism, cyber attacks and ballistic missiles. “Relying on the strategies of the past simply will not suffice” says Clinton, right with Gates. The two also express support for the alliance’s proposed Strategic Concept.


Taxing Pakistan’s Wealthy
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urges Pakistan to collect taxes on its wealthier citizens in order to help pay for the country’s recovery from flooding that could ultimately cost tens of billions of dollars.

The Timeline in Sudan
Following a week-long visit to southern Sudan, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice reports that the Sudanese people remain hopeful ahead of a January 9, 2011 referendum on the region’s independence.

“Partners for a New Beginning”
Partners for a New Beginning (PNB), an initiative joining American private sector and civil society leaders to strengthen opportunities in Muslim countries, adds further support to President Obama’s vision of “a new beginning” for the United States and Muslim communities across the globe.

A U.S.-China Success Story
AirNow International, a joint U.S.-China air quality program, is cited as a bilateral success by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson during a visit to the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.

The Danger of Counterfeit Drugs
The key to fighting a global “pandemic” of counterfeit drugs is building partnerships among drug companies, pharmaceutical trade groups, law enforcement and customs officials worldwide, experts say. Rubie Mages, a security official with U.S. drug manufacturer Pfizer, says pharmaceutical companies must “monitor the supply chain” and report counterfeit drugs to authorities.

Changing Health Care in Africa
Experts say a “paradigm shift” is needed in health care in Africa to include greater focus on the prevention and treatment of noncommunicable diseases like diabetes and not just infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS. Silver Bahendeka, chair of the International Diabetes Association’s Africa region, predicts that “Africa will have the highest percentage of increase in the number of people with diabetes over the next 20 years.” Left, Archbishop Desmond Tutu is examined for diabetes in South Africa.

Culture Change at an Electric Utility

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Daler Jumaev is one of many entrepreneurs coming to the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship April 26-27, 2010, from countries with sizeable Muslim populations. He is director of Pamir Energy, Tajikistan’s only private power company, operating in the remote Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast. 

Barry Moltz is an American author of BAM! Bust A Myth: Delivering Customer Service in a Self-Service World.

Daler Jumaev

Daler Jumaev

Daler Jumaev:
I came to the company in 2007, when it was in crisis. There was a problem with the relationship with the community. The metering, billing, service, communications and tariff issues were not handled well by the company. Customers, for their part, used all kind of excuses to steal energy and not pay. Most of the customers did not have meters. It was a very, very difficult relationship with the community as well as with the local and central governments.

We started to make group disconnections because almost everybody had high debts. But we also started to have community meetings where we went to the people and said, “Let’s discuss the problems.” The first meetings were very unpleasant. There were lots of frustrations, lots of arguments. People insulted us. There was dissatisfaction.

We knew they would have to change their perceptions toward the utility services. We just took our time and explained and explained it. I often personally went on the TV and explained where we were. Every month we printed a newsletter. We identified the top 10 questions people asked and answered those.

At the same time we increased efficiency. We had power losses of 39 percent. Today, we have losses of 23 percent, and for 2010 I put the target at 18 percent. Before, we had only 12 hours a day of power in the winter in the biggest towns. Today we are providing 22 to 23 hours of electricity per day in winter time to all our customers on the main grid. We are changing the habit of the customers so they are using less power. We’re not only meeting the demand, but we are also exporting power to other regions. We’re going from the worst-served area of the country to the best, despite having the most difficult weather.

The major challenges were changing perceptions and the mentality of all the stakeholders. People were happy because the CEO of the biggest company came and listened and took some notes and made some changes. It was crucial that we followed up and they saw the results: new meters, better service, a billing system and more power.

Barry Moltz

Barry Moltz

Barry Moltz:

Most entrepreneurs in the United States don’t have to deal with the type of crisis management that Daler Jumaev does in Tajikistan. American entrepreneurs may not get the support we like from our employees or our customers, but we don’t typically have to deal with outright theft of our products.

Mr. Jumaev was successful because he started listening to his customers as a way to get them to pay their bills and stop stealing from his company. Most customers just want a forum to be heard even if you are unable to solve their problems right away. As the CEO, this is exactly what Mr. Jumaev did. After the meetings, he kept communicating with his customers on TV and in newsletters. He showed real action he was taking. In the process, he was able to actually improve the efficiency of the service that he provided to all his customers by now providing 23 hours of power to the main grid. Mr. Jumaev was able to add new meters and a new billing system. The result was a 100% increase in service just by listening to customers!

What can we learn? Don’t ask how you can help the customer. Ask how you can make them more satisfied. What great customer service is varies from customer to customer and time to time. No one size fits all. A company needs to ask each time how they can make that customer more satisfied. Be prepared to listen for the answer and take action on what you hear.