“Let your performance do the talking,” says radio talk show host Herman Cain. With his
larger than life radio voice, magnetic enthusiasm and optimism, this is a man who can
offer such advice because his own performance speaks clearly for his life of amazing
success.
That success came with the price of hard work and having sizable goals of achievement.
Raised in a family that was “rich with love but poor in money,” Herman Cain knows the
price his father paid to provide for his family deserves much credit for his success today.
“He walked off a farm at 18 with the clothes on his back,” said Cain, with obvious
respect for a gutsy decision. From that Sr. Cain worked three jobs to make ends meet:
barber, janitor, and chauffer. Jobs that required hard work and long hours, but offering a
much better future than working his whole life on a farm. Eventually years of hard work
afforded him the unique position as the fulltime chauffer in Atlanta to Coca-Cola great
Robert W. Woodruff for 25 years. This enabled him to provide for his family working
only one job. “We didn’t know we were poor. My dad or mom never complained about
what the government was going to do for us, they didn’t whine, they went to work every
day.”
Faith was an early part of his life, as his was a church going family. “Whatever it took,
we were going to church.” Seeing the religious side of his parents brought about a
lifelong appreciation to Cain, now Associate Pastor of Antioch Baptist Church.
As a young adult Herman was away from home for the first time, and decided since no
one was there to make him go to church, he would stay home and watch football. “No
one was there to make me feel guilty so I stayed home. Suddenly, it was like a fire stirred
up in my bones, I could not get comfortable, and I had an uncontrollable twitch that
would not stop! Right then I got up, got ready, and went to church.” That was the first
personal experience with God that Mr. Cain remembered with a sense of understanding
that going to church faithfully would be a lifelong priority.
One of Mr. Cain’s fathers’ goals was that Herman and his younger brother would have a
better start in life than he. That meant a good education. After attending public schools in
Atlanta , he attended Moorehouse College and received a degree in math and a minor in
physics. That let to a job at the Department of Navy as a mathematician. “I had first job
jitters, what do mathematicians do?” Herman said with a big laugh. Soon he realized that
your education prepares you for your job and the company that hires you will show you
what to do.
This was during the 1960’s when the computer industry was taking off. Everyone was
saying that the future was in technology and Herman Cain wanted to be involved in
anything that was going to be that big. “At the time, my motivation was money, how
much could I make?” As a result, he took a risk and applied to one of the hardest
technology schools in the country. Purdue University accepted him the first time around
to the surprise of many and it was there he obtained a Masters Degree in computer
science.
Still with the Navy, he became restless and established a goal of an annual income of
$20,000. He was ready to move up, and he set a new goal that he wanted to be Vice
President of something.
A master’s degree positioned him for an upcoming promotion to become Supervisor of
the Math Department. Herman Cain was selected for that promotion and the pay was
$20,000 to the penny. “You’ve got to have a goal, you’ve got to have a dream,” he said as
if trying to convince the world that one of his keys to success was always having a goal in
mind.
Losing patience in working at the government’s pace, Herman went to work for Coca-
Cola. Though that job had no real upside potential, it was where Herman was filled with a
passion for business. “It was like getting another degree,” he recalled about the new
world of business in which he had entered.
Later he was recruited by Pillsbury and moved his family to Minnesota. There he became
the head of an analysis group. Once the company learned of his knowledge of computers
and about his degree, he was again promoted to Director of Information Technologies.
“Even though I had the education for this job, it was also my ability to lead and produce
results that earned me the promotion,” he said remembering back to the importance of his
track record in earning that title.
Then Pillsbury acquired Green Giant and Herman was selected to merge the companies
technology systems. That led to a promotion of Vice President of the corporation. Goal
met again. “You gotta have a goal,” he said, as if to prove his point again that goals led to
dreams fulfilled.
Now that he was a VP, it was time to establish another goal. “From my corner office, I
decided that my next goal was to become president of something,” again pointing out the
need to establish the new goal. Making this goal known to the current company president,
they agreed that Herman needed to get into operations and went to Pillsbury owned
Burger King.
His introduction to this part of the business was “Whopper College,” where he learned to
broil burgers. He completed an 18-month training program in 9 months. His willingness
to “cook burgers” and learn operations was key to his understanding that side of this
business.
After training he was assigned to lead the Philadelphia region. It was worst performing
region for the company at the time. In only 3 _ years that region was first in the company.
“Let your performance do the talking,” he said again. “I talk to young people all the time,
that is what I tell them. Let your performance do the talking. They ask me all the time,
was your color a barrier? I tell them not to whine, what speaks in business is
performance.”
Soon they acquired Godfather’s Pizza. In 1986 Herman Cain took it over. His boss said,
you are now President of Godfathers Pizza. You can imagine what he said next. “You’ve
got to have a goal, if you don’t have a goal, how will you know if you got there?” Once
again proving his point.
A group of business people led by Herman Cain put together a leverage buyout in 1988
and sold the company in 1999. This offered him another opportunity to decide what
would be next. He was not ready to retire, as he had a consuming passion and energy to
be productive, and upon the birth of his first granddaughter that goal suddenly
became clear.
While Mr. Cain was in Hawaii on a business trip, his daughter Melanie went into labor.
His wife had remained at home, not wanting to take a chance on missing the birth. “On
Wednesday, I got the call that she was in labor. I kept asking, is everything OK? Because
every time I would call, she was still in labor. It took me until Friday to get home, and
she was still in labor. They kept saying everything was fine.”
“I got to Atlanta at about 9pm, rented a car and went straight to Piedmont Hospital. No
baby yet, still everyone said everything was just fine. I got to the hospital at 9:30 and the
baby was born at 9:52. That baby was waiting on Granddaddy!” He said through his
bright white smile.
Then Mrs. Cain comes out with her hand on her hips with an attitude. “You have a grand
daughter”, she said bluntly. Herman says, “What is up with that attitude?” She replied
just like anyone who had been accompanying their daughter during 3 days of labor. “I’ve
been here for 3 days, and you show up and the baby is born,” he recalled proudly like it
was yesterday.
Then he met is new granddaughter Salina for the first time and his next goal became
crystal clear. “I knew in that moment I had to make this world a better place.” He said
with a sense of purpose.
“It was just like that uncontrollable twitch when I tried to play hooky from going to
church. God was speaking to me when I saw her little face. I knew in that moment I could
not spend 3 days a week on a golf course, and I love golf.”
After a series of events, Herman Cain decided to run for the US Senate. Even after
friends tried to talk him out of it, he knew that was what he wanted to do. Willing to put
up some of his own money, he prayed and was convinced.
“I finished an impressive 2nd. God wanted me to run, but He also wanted me to come in
2nd, and I had to figure out why.” Knowing then that sometimes you have to wait on God,
he recalled in Isaiah “He who waits on the Lord renews their strength.”
It was during this time that his strength in math and his passion for business came back
into play. He began to study the tax codes and learned about government operations. His
campaign focal points became what he considers the most important government
programs that need to be addressed, Social Security, health dare, and tax codes. His
campaign brought so much focus on those issues that it produced a ripple affect on the
country.
Though he did not become the next United States Senator from Georgia, he has become a
voice of reason and inspiration through his new radio show, “The Bottom Line with
Herman Cain.” Realizing that the majority of people in our country feel helpless about
politics, his syndicated radio show is the home of pertinent teaching and a constant
reminder that people are not helpless as long as they do something and use their voice to
make a difference.”
“I believe my next journey is media,” Cain says with a confident smile. With his diverse
background, he comes from a unique perspective as a successful businessman who also
ran a great Senate campaign.
Herman Cain is living his life’s purpose. When asking him about those who don’t really
know “what to dream” or how to establish goals, his answer was precise. “People are
bombarded with negative news and whine-itus. We’ve got to break through that with
positive messages and optimism. We have to elect leaders in Washington who are not
pessimists. That would help.”
”Fortunately, those who have a spiritual life have an edge, that is what gets me inspired.
We just had a revival and it got me all kicked up. If Rosa Parks can be a spark of change,
so can everyone in their own corner of the world. In the history of the country, it as not
an overwhelming majority who decided that what this country would be about. It was a
small group of ‘difference makers.’
Leaning in as if to emphasize his passion, it was evident why this one man has made such
a difference and had such an incredible journey of success and excitement. Summing it
all up, his closing statement says it all.
“There are three kinds of people. People who make things happen. People who watch
things happen, and people who ask what happened. Leaders make things happen. You
can too.”
Herman Cain’s radio show can be heard on Saturday’s from 3-6 PM on Atlanta’s New
Talk Station 920 AM WGKA. He is also a regular featured guest with Bill Bennett on
Friday mornings at 7:20 AM on WGKA. In addition he is a frequent guest on the Fox
News Channel and has authored four books, the most recent is “They Think You Are
Stupid.” You can also learn more at www.hermaincain.com .
Written by Beth Townsend
says radio talk show host Herman Cain. With his
larger than life radio voice, magnetic enthusiasm and optimism, this is a man who can
offer such advice because his own performance speaks clearly for his life of amazing
success.
That success came with the price of hard work and having sizable goals of achievement.
Raised in a family that was “rich with love but poor in money,” Herman Cain knows the
price his father paid to provide for his family deserves much credit for his success today.
“He walked off a farm at 18 with the clothes on his back,” said Cain, with obvious
respect for a gutsy decision. From that Sr. Cain worked three jobs to make ends meet:
barber, janitor, and chauffer. Jobs that required hard work and long hours, but offering a
much better future than working his whole life on a farm. Eventually years of hard work
afforded him the unique position as the fulltime chauffer in Atlanta to Coca-Cola great
Robert W. Woodruff for 25 years. This enabled him to provide for his family working
only one job. “We didn’t know we were poor. My dad or mom never complained about
what the government was going to do for us, they didn’t whine, they went to work every
day.”
Faith was an early part of his life, as his was a church going family. “Whatever it took,
we were going to church.” Seeing the religious side of his parents brought about a
lifelong appreciation to Cain, now Associate Pastor of Antioch Baptist Church.
As a young adult Herman was away from home for the first time, and decided since no
one was there to make him go to church, he would stay home and watch football. “No
one was there to make me feel guilty so I stayed home. Suddenly, it was like a fire stirred
up in my bones, I could not get comfortable, and I had an uncontrollable twitch that
would not stop! Right then I got up, got ready, and went to church.” That was the first
personal experience with God that Mr. Cain remembered with a sense of understanding
that going to church faithfully would be a lifelong priority.
One of Mr. Cain’s fathers’ goals was that Herman and his younger brother would have a
better start in life than he. That meant a good education. After attending public schools in
Atlanta , he attended Moorehouse College and received a degree in math and a minor in
physics. That let to a job at the Department of Navy as a mathematician. “I had first job
jitters, what do mathematicians do?” Herman said with a big laugh. Soon he realized that
your education prepares you for your job and the company that hires you will show you
what to do.
This was during the 1960’s when the computer industry was taking off. Everyone was
saying that the future was in technology and Herman Cain wanted to be involved in
anything that was going to be that big. “At the time, my motivation was money, how
much could I make?” As a result, he took a risk and applied to one of the hardest
technology schools in the country. Purdue University accepted him the first time around
to the surprise of many and it was there he obtained a Masters Degree in computer
science.
Still with the Navy, he became restless and established a goal of an annual income of
$20,000. He was ready to move up, and he set a new goal that he wanted to be Vice
President of something.
A master’s degree positioned him for an upcoming promotion to become Supervisor of
the Math Department. Herman Cain was selected for that promotion and the pay was
$20,000 to the penny. “You’ve got to have a goal, you’ve got to have a dream,” he said as
if trying to convince the world that one of his keys to success was always having a goal in
mind.
Losing patience in working at the government’s pace, Herman went to work for Coca-
Cola. Though that job had no real upside potential, it was where Herman was filled with a
passion for business. “It was like getting another degree,” he recalled about the new
world of business in which he had entered.
Later he was recruited by Pillsbury and moved his family to Minnesota. There he became
the head of an analysis group. Once the company learned of his knowledge of computers
and about his degree, he was again promoted to Director of Information Technologies.
“Even though I had the education for this job, it was also my ability to lead and produce
results that earned me the promotion,” he said remembering back to the importance of his
track record in earning that title.
Then Pillsbury acquired Green Giant and Herman was selected to merge the companies
technology systems. That led to a promotion of Vice President of the corporation. Goal
met again. “You gotta have a goal,” he said, as if to prove his point again that goals led to
dreams fulfilled.
Now that he was a VP, it was time to establish another goal. “From my corner office, I
decided that my next goal was to become president of something,” again pointing out the
need to establish the new goal. Making this goal known to the current company president,
they agreed that Herman needed to get into operations and went to Pillsbury owned
Burger King.
His introduction to this part of the business was “Whopper College,” where he learned to
broil burgers. He completed an 18-month training program in 9 months. His willingness
to “cook burgers” and learn operations was key to his understanding that side of this
business.
After training he was assigned to lead the Philadelphia region. It was worst performing
region for the company at the time. In only 3 _ years that region was first in the company.
“Let your performance do the talking,” he said again. “I talk to young people all the time,
that is what I tell them. Let your performance do the talking. They ask me all the time,
was your color a barrier? I tell them not to whine, what speaks in business is
performance.”
Soon they acquired Godfather’s Pizza. In 1986 Herman Cain took it over. His boss said,
you are now President of Godfathers Pizza. You can imagine what he said next. “You’ve
got to have a goal, if you don’t have a goal, how will you know if you got there?” Once
again proving his point.
A group of business people led by Herman Cain put together a leverage buyout in 1988
and sold the company in 1999. This offered him another opportunity to decide what
would be next. He was not ready to retire, as he had a consuming passion and energy to
be productive, and upon the birth of his first granddaughter that goal suddenly
became clear.
While Mr. Cain was in Hawaii on a business trip, his daughter Melanie went into labor.
His wife had remained at home, not wanting to take a chance on missing the birth. “On
Wednesday, I got the call that she was in labor. I kept asking, is everything OK? Because
every time I would call, she was still in labor. It took me until Friday to get home, and
she was still in labor. They kept saying everything was fine.”
“I got to Atlanta at about 9pm, rented a car and went straight to Piedmont Hospital. No
baby yet, still everyone said everything was just fine. I got to the hospital at 9:30 and the
baby was born at 9:52. That baby was waiting on Granddaddy!” He said through his
bright white smile.
Then Mrs. Cain comes out with her hand on her hips with an attitude. “You have a grand
daughter”, she said bluntly. Herman says, “What is up with that attitude?” She replied
just like anyone who had been accompanying their daughter during 3 days of labor. “I’ve
been here for 3 days, and you show up and the baby is born,” he recalled proudly like it
was yesterday.
Then he met is new granddaughter Salina for the first time and his next goal became
crystal clear. “I knew in that moment I had to make this world a better place.” He said
with a sense of purpose.
“It was just like that uncontrollable twitch when I tried to play hooky from going to
church. God was speaking to me when I saw her little face. I knew in that moment I could
not spend 3 days a week on a golf course, and I love golf.”
After a series of events, Herman Cain decided to run for the US Senate. Even after
friends tried to talk him out of it, he knew that was what he wanted to do. Willing to put
up some of his own money, he prayed and was convinced.
“I finished an impressive 2nd. God wanted me to run, but He also wanted me to come in
2nd, and I had to figure out why.” Knowing then that sometimes you have to wait on God,
he recalled in Isaiah “He who waits on the Lord renews their strength.”
It was during this time that his strength in math and his passion for business came back
into play. He began to study the tax codes and learned about government operations. His
campaign focal points became what he considers the most important government
programs that need to be addressed, Social Security, health dare, and tax codes. His
campaign brought so much focus on those issues that it produced a ripple affect on the
country.
Though he did not become the next United States Senator from Georgia, he has become a
voice of reason and inspiration through his new radio show, “The Bottom Line with
Herman Cain.” Realizing that the majority of people in our country feel helpless about
politics, his syndicated radio show is the home of pertinent teaching and a constant
reminder that people are not helpless as long as they do something and use their voice to
make a difference.”
“I believe my next journey is media,” Cain says with a confident smile. With his diverse
background, he comes from a unique perspective as a successful businessman who also
ran a great Senate campaign.
Herman Cain is living his life’s purpose. When asking him about those who don’t really
know “what to dream” or how to establish goals, his answer was precise. “People are
bombarded with negative news and whine-itus. We’ve got to break through that with
positive messages and optimism. We have to elect leaders in Washington who are not
pessimists. That would help.”
”Fortunately, those who have a spiritual life have an edge, that is what gets me inspired.
We just had a revival and it got me all kicked up. If Rosa Parks can be a spark of change,
so can everyone in their own corner of the world. In the history of the country, it as not
an overwhelming majority who decided that what this country would be about. It was a
small group of ‘difference makers.’
Leaning in as if to emphasize his passion, it was evident why this one man has made such
a difference and had such an incredible journey of success and excitement. Summing it
all up, his closing statement says it all.
“There are three kinds of people. People who make things happen. People who watch
things happen, and people who ask what happened. Leaders make things happen. You
can too.”
Herman Cain’s radio show can be heard on Saturday’s from 3-6 PM on Atlanta’s New
Talk Station 920 AM WGKA. He is also a regular featured guest with Bill Bennett on
Friday mornings at 7:20 AM on WGKA. In addition he is a frequent guest on the Fox
News Channel and has authored four books, the most recent is “They Think You Are
Stupid.”
You can also learn more at www.hermaincain.com .