Posted on 06/03/2011 1:58:04 PM PDT by justsaynomore
I was as guilty of it as anyone. Before Herman Cain’s rise as a player in the 2012 GOP primary, the easiest shorthand was to describe him simply as the “ex-Godfather’s Pizza CEO.” This, of course, was overly simplistic.
The truth is that Cain experience is much more vast than simply running Godfathers. He has a Master’s degree in computer science, was a mathematician for the Department of Navy, served as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and has been a popular talk show host.
And after Cain’s success at Godfather’s (he lead the company back to profitability when it was on the verge of bankruptcy), Cain became the first restaurateur to serve as the full-time president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association. That is where he famously and publicly took on then-President Bill Clinton over “HillaryCare” — and that is where he honed his skills of persuasion — which he believes could make him an effective president.
To fully appreciate Cain’s experience, it’s important to realize just how big this organization is. The restaurant industry currently employs almost 13 million people in 960,000 locations. Of those, the NRA represents 380,000 businesses. The organization has also become somewhat of a political powerhouse, due, in large part, to Cain’s efforts.
But as head of the group, Cain couldn’t act unilaterally. To enact changes, he had to persuade a board of directors, as well as gain the support of industry leaders. (As head of the NRA, Cain couldn’t just tell association members like McDonalds what to do — he had to get them to buy in.) “How big is the job? It’s probably as busy as being the mayor of the city of New York,” says Joe Fassler, a former NRA Chairman of the board of directors, and the man who recruited Cain for the job.
One of Cain’s first challenges as NRA President and CEO (he had previously served as chairman of the board, but a new title was created to empower Cain to run the day-to-day operations) was to convince board members to take the technological leap and upgrade their manually maintained membership files to a searchable electronic database. This was vital. “You don’t always have to be on the cutting edge of technology, but you have to be on the blade,” Cain told me.
Although some board members were hesitant to support these changes (which would require spending significant amounts of money), Cain recognized the importance of persistence and persuasion and refused to give up. “The board looked at me like I was Superman without the cape,” Cain said, describing what it was like to tell them they would need to spend millions of dollars to improve their effectiveness. “Some Association executives just tell the board what they want to hear,” he explained, “but I wasn’t afraid to tell them what they needed to hear.”
Read more:
About Herman Cain: My Story
I was raised in Atlanta, Georgia by loving and hardworking parents. We grew up poor, but we grew up happy. Things weren’t always easy, but my mom and dad knew that if they kept their faith in God, faith in themselves and their faith in the greatest country in the world, they, too, could achieve their American Dream.
That dream, we discovered, was for my parents to own their own home and watch their two sons graduate from college. Those dreams required that my father work three jobs to support our family.
The first dream was realized in a brick home on Albert Street. I can still recall the excitement of the day, as he surprised us—even my mother—when he drove us to our new home.
Their second dream was realized when I proudly accepted my degree in mathematics from Morehouse College in 1967 and my brother graduated from Morris Brown College. Both of my father’s American Dreams were achieved. Now, I set off to achieve mine.
One year after graduating, I married the love of my life, Gloria. And together, we started our journey to achieve our Dreams. This meant relocating to Indiana where I would begin my Master’s degree program at Purdue University, while working full-time as a mathematician at the Department of the Navy.
After earning my Master’s degree and six years working for the Department of the Navy, we returned home to Atlanta, where I began to climb the corporate ladder with the Coca-Cola Company. I faced challenges, but I always remembered the values my parents taught me. With enough faith and determination, I knew I could go as high in corporate America as I desired.
I enjoyed a successful career at the Coca-Cola Company and later moved to the Pillsbury Company. Within a short period, I rose to the position of Vice President. When I got there, I thought I had already achieved my American Dream on the 31st floor of the new Pillsbury Corporate Headquarters with a corner office. But I quickly realized I wanted something more.
I resigned my position and started on another path- the restaurant industry. I knew that in order to be successful, I had to start from “the ground up.” This meant broiling hamburgers at Pillsbury’s Burger King division. After nine months of a grueling restaurant experience, I was assigned to lead a low performing region of 450 Burger King restaurants. Within three years, we became the best-performing region in the U.S.
I could have been content with my executive role with one of America’s biggest corporations. Instead, after consulting with my wife, we decided to take one of the biggest risks of our marriage: picking up our young family, relocating yet again and accepting the call to become CEO and President of Godfather’s Pizza, a company teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.
In 14 months, we turned the company around and returned it to profitability, and I ultimately led my management team to a buyout of Godfather’s Pizza. The company never went bankrupt, and today, there are still hundreds of locations across the U.S.
My success at turning around Godfather’s got the attention of fellow restaurateurs around the nation who invited me to join the Board of Directors of the National Restaurant Association and later elected me its chairman. In 1996, they retained me as the full-time President and the CEO of the National Restaurant Association, working on behalf of thousands of small businesses and entrepreneurs.
In 1994, as chairman of the National Restaurant Association, I had the opportunity to speak with President Clinton during a nationally televised town hall meeting. Here, I challenged the President regarding the impact on businesses if his health care overhaul proposal were passed.
President Clinton attempted to assure me and the millions of viewers watching at home that his legislation would not harm American business owners and their employees.
I was skeptical. “Quite honestly Mr. President, your calculations are incorrect,” I said. “In the competitive marketplace, it simply doesn’t work that way.”
Through these and other appearances on behalf of the National Restaurant Association, I began working with business leaders across all sectors of the American economy. This led to my acceptance of a position on the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and I was subsequently elected their chairman.
Today, I host a radio talk show, “The Herman Cain Show,” on Atlanta’s WSB 750 AM/ 95.5 FM. I serve as a regular contributor on several broadcast networks and as a keynote speaker at conferences and events around the nation.
Despite the many professional commitments of my life, I continued to enjoy most the time spent with family and friends. As my children got married and had their own children, I knew that I had an extraordinary obligation to do what I could to make this a safe and prosperous nation for them. The paramount joys in my life are my wife, Gloria, our children and our grandchildren.
I am grateful for the many professional successes I have enjoyed. I am grateful for the steadfast loyalty and unwavering love of my family and friends. And I am grateful for this country that is so exceptional that I was afforded the opportunity to achieve my American Dreams.
I’m not done yet!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHomZF3JGBg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk6PA48uR50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOFB-2yJzCY
Pinganator: Other Herman Cain Articles this afternoon (6/3/11)
7 possible GOP presidential hopefuls will debate June 13
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2729127/posts
Herman Cain - I Like That Dark Horse
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2729362/posts
Alveda King Tells Voters to Get on the ‘Herman Cain Train’
http://www.christianpost.com/news/alveda-king-tells-voters-to-get-on-the-herman-cain-train-50775/
Herman Cain Confident His Campaign Can Raise Enough Money to Beat Romney, GOP Candidates
http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/06/herman-cain-confident-his-campaign-can-raise-enough-money-to-beat-romney-gop-candidates.html
Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City -———
that is exactly why I am not interested in Cain...
Money quote” (I’ve added the ‘points’)
1) “He’s very honest.
2) He knows what he doesn’t know,
3) and he doesn’t try to hide it.
4 But he knows how to get the information that he doesn’t know.”
Yeah. I know what you are talking about. He was at the Fed in KC for a whopping 2 years, 15 years ago. What an evil mastermind. Thank God Ron Paul will straighten us all out. He is a real winner.
The Federal Reserve Banks DO NOT set monetary policy.
What they do is provide financial services to depository institutions including banks, credit unions, and savings and loans, much like those that banks provide for their customers. These services include collecting checks, electronically transferring funds, and distributing and receiving cash and coin.
Sounds so very ominous. I have to wonder what you think of me as I used Federal Reserve notes instead of gold to pay for my lunch today.
Herman Cain’s life experience is considerably more relevant to being Chief Executve of this country than Obama’s experience.
Obama was prior to running for the Presidency:
A) A College professor
B) A Community Organizer
C) A One term State Senator ( a term he did not finish ).
D) A Two year US Senator who voted present many times, refusing to take a stand.
I’ll let you folks decide who has more executive experience between Cain and Obama prior to running for President.
I agree 100%. It is amazing how many people make drive by comments without the foggiest notion what this man has accomplished in his lifetime, not to mention how long he has been an active participant in the war against liberalism by way of books, speeches, talk radio and actions.
He’s been in the fight against liberals far longer than Palin or Bachmann, and that’s NOT a slam on them. I love them both too! Just pointing out the fact that he’s no slouch and no newcomer to fighting the fight that most of FR nation believes in.
Someone will be along in a bit to tell you how much they love Cain, but....
or
That he’s actually running for Sarah’s chauffeur but not for President.
Cain is much more qualified than ANY other Presidential hopeful out there and deserving of much respect. So he worked for the Fed for a time, who can cast the first stone?
Obama was never a professor. He was a part time lecturer.
Solid business and technical and leadership skills. Something few candidates have had.
Just a smart pizza guy?
I don’t believe that for a minute. Sarah has a ton more experience.
You are right, except Obama was never a college professor. He was a guest lecturer at best.
but Obama does have experience running things........................into the ground.
Why not list and contrast Palin vs. Cain. I know Cain is older so he has done more just out of a time line thing, but when it comes to creating genuine prosperity and jobs for thousands of people in the private sector, Cain is hard to beat. He destroys Romney’s fake record on that by a mile.
Some of his “Turn Around” achievements at Pillsbury were very solid not to mention his own ventures where he put his money where his mouth was.
Mr. Cain has a degree in Physics.
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