The Pulse: Former Phila. colleagues remember Cain fondly

Herman Cain hopes his route to the White House has come through the Philadelphia area, where former colleagues recall him fondly.

"I ran the Philadelphia region, and I was with Burger King for a considerable number of years before I went to Godfather's" Pizza, Cain confirmed for me last week in an interview.

As he details in his book This is Herman Cain!, he spent four years (1982-86) as Burger King's vice president and regional manager. Cain writes about his career path, which led from a VP job at Pillsbury to Burger King at age 36 as a part of the company executive fast-track program. His first posting after completing the training was as the fourth assistant manager at a company store in Hopkins, Minn., where he had to deal with his first crisis: The broiler had been inadvertently shut down and dozens of burgers were undercooked.

Cain instructed the staff to overload on chicken, fish, and fries while the broiler reheated. He explained to customers in line in the front of the store, as well as those in the drive-through, that it would be 15 minutes before any burgers would be served. In the meantime, Cain wrote in the book, the store sold out of chicken and fish.

You could say his instincts to play hardball politics were honed at his next posting, a store near Minneapolis. There, an assistant manager removed $50 from the register as an act of sabotage. I asked him about that challenge.

"The VP for the region was trying to make sure I failed. And so some of the younger assistant managers, they thought that sabotaging me was the thing to do," Cain said. "That young manager played a little trick on me that wasn't such a cute trick. He took money out of my cash register receipts the night that I came up short and I had to report it on the standard report, and then the next day, it showed back up. And I didn't find out until I left the region six months later about the trick he played on me, and he was deeply sorry, and I accepted his apology and to this day we are still friends."

Then, nine months into the 18-month fast-track program, he came to the Philadelphia area, where, by his account, and those of several of his coworkers with whom I have communicated, he thrived.

"The reason I did well in running Burger King's Philadelphia region is that I treated people like people," Cain said during our interview. "The culture at Burger King was intimidation, fear, and screaming, tactics to which I did not subscribe. I believe in telling people when they are doing something right."

Tony Cerrone worked for Cain from the time of his arrival through his farewell party.

"We were sad to see him go," Cerrone said. "He was extremely well-respected, someone you gravitated toward."

Cerrone was the regional accounting manager and also served for a few months toward the end of Cain's tenure as acting regional controller, reporting directly to Cain.

"The man has something, a natural-born leadership quality," Cerrone said. "He inspires people to get things done."

The Burger King regional office was then on Fellowship Road in Mount Laurel, across from NFL Films. Cerrone said Cain lived in Moorestown.

"Herman has one of those unusual work habits," Cerrone said. "He used to tell stories that he rarely needed more than four hours of sleep a night."

This praise is especially noteworthy insofar as it comes from a man Cain did not promote from his acting position.

"We met for drinks at a Mount Laurel hotel bar to discuss my potential promotion," Cerrone remembered. "This occurred sometime in 1984 and Jesse Jackson was running for president. I started the conversation with what I consider to be the DUMBEST thing I've ever said . . . 'So, I guess you're supporting Jesse Jackson for president?' Mind you, I had no idea what Herman's politics were! He responded with, 'Why would you assume that?' "

Cain went on to tell him that, no, he was not supporting Jackson, and then explained why he was not getting the promotion. By the time Cain was finished, Cerrone said, "I honestly had to agree with his assessment!"

Cerrone also recalls the day Cain took all the managers to a company-owned restaurant in Maple Shade.

"He explained it was important for us to understand what the front-line people had to do every day to serve our customers," Cerrone said. Suffice it to say, not all were thrilled with broiling burgers, running the deep fryer, making burgers, and taking orders from customers. "In the end, we did have a much better perspective of the day-to-day lives of our store managers," Cerrone said.

"Herman made a lasting impression on me and I have never forgotten his leadership, problem-solving abilities, and his charisma," Cerrone said. "I can attest that the Herman Cain you see on the campaign is the same great individual I knew personally."

Keri Pyse, Cain's former executive assistant, echoed those sentiments and said her first meeting with Cain was notable for not only "his smile and sincerity" but also for the wooden briefcase he carried. Thirty years later, Pyse described Cain's mentoring as "priceless."

"He leads by example - something, in my opinion, that allows one to learn without it seeming like a lesson," she said. "And he has the rare talent to be able to get his point across or get the lightbulb to go off in a positive way."

Pyse still follows advice Cain offered:

"In that brilliant baritone voice, he said: 'KP, in your life the only person who really looks out for you is YOU.' Knowing Herman, what he was telling me was to always be true to myself and do the right thing, not to rely on someone else to create your success or happiness - something I strive for each day - even 30 years later."

Esau Sims worked for Cain for a few years at Burger King and then replaced him when Cain left to go to Godfather's. The company's franchising director and vice president of operations, Sims introduced Cain at conventions and seminars - and told me he often referenced Cain's remarks when crafting his own.

"Herman is truly a man of his words," Sims said.

If Cain can garner the support among voters that he achieved among coworkers, he'll be in the presidential race for the long haul.