Leadership and common sense

AQP Annual Conference keynote speaker Herman Cain says, "You can't motivate people-people motivate themselves. Leaders must identify and remove the obstacles that keep people from being self-motivated."

Herman Cain interviewed by lamest. Rooney

Rooney: In your book, Leadership is Common Sense you describe three plus three leadership as having three critical qualities and three critical behaviors. Briefly explain your D-E-F and R-O-I factors.

Cain: A leader must be selfmotivated, willing to take some risks, and have the ability to block out the unnecessary stuff. These are the three critical qualities a leader must possess. I call them the D, E, and F factors and they are explained as follows:

D (Drucker) Ability to recognize that people must motivate themselves.

E (Entrepreneurial) Ability to take risks and make the tough decisions.

F (Focus) Ability to block out the unnecessary and concentrate on the necessary.

There also are three critical things a leader must do.

R (Remove) barriers that prevent people from being self-motivated.

O (Obtain) the right results by working on the right problems.

I (Inspire) the passion within people to perform better than expected.

Rooney: Your "F" factor of leaders is to focus on the necessary and block out the unnecessary. What techniques do you recommend for accomplishing this?

Cain: Establishing focus requires a willingness to make the tough decisions. The essence of focus s sacrifice. To make the tough decisions, a leader must always remember that success means achieving the ultimate goal.

Rooney: One of the three critical things that you believe a leader must do is remove barriers that prevent self-motivation. Please describe examples of barriers and how a leader can remove the

Cain: Barriers fall into three categories:

* Job related, such as being in the wrong job, poor job performance, or inadequate training.

* Personally related, such as low self-confidence or bad attitude.

* Family related, such as illness, divorce, or a problem child.

A good leader can prevent or remove many job and personally-related barriers by identifying people whose talents and abilities are a good fit for the particular job. Family-related barriers are generally more difficult, but open lines of communication with employees and compassion and empathy for them are important.

Rooney: What tactics would you recommend to inspire motivation in others?

Cain: A leader's ability to inspire others is determined by his ability to demonstrate self-motivation and passion.

Rooney: Other than having a dream, what do you see as the essential drivers of motivation?

Cain: Love of God, love of family, self-esteem, and desire.

Rooney: When working in a team setting, is there such a thing as a team dream? If so, how is it best developed and sustained?

Cain: People dream, and people with dreams make up the team. The team dream is called a common goal. The team goal and achievement of the goal can be developed best and sustained through great communication and mutual respect.

Rooney: You have said quite a bit about the importance of having a dream. What advice would you give to someone who doesn't have one or isn't sure what it is? How is a good motivating dream recognized?

Cain: I think everyone has dreams. They may not be sure if they're realistic, and they may not be sure how to go about accomplishing them, but everyone has them. The process is to dream it, decide it, and desire it enough to go after it.

Rooney: You have said that there is really no such thing as a right or wrong decision-just different consequences for taking different actions- that if the consequences are desired, then it was the right decision. What about the decision that benefits only the individual making it-"right" from his/her point of view but viewed as unethical by society at large?

Cain: The principle of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness means the pursuit of happiness, not at the expense of someone else's liberty, and liberty not at the expense of somebody else's life. The same is true with a decision that benefits only the individual (as long as it's not at the expense of someone else).

Rooney: How would you go about building and encouraging ethical behavior in an adult who does not really understand the concept? How do you encourage those behaviors in a child?

Cain: If an adult doesn't understand the concept of ethical behavior, it's too late. You teach children ethical behavior by example early in their lives.

Herman Cain is a business evangelist who talks about removing the obstacles to succeed, leading the actions required to achieve the desired results, and inspiring extraordinary achievement in others. He currently is chairman of God father's Pizza, Inc., after serving as its CEO and president. Cain has authored three

books: CEO of Self, You're in Charge; Speak As a Leader, and Leadership is Common Sense.

Learn more from Herman Cain by attending his keynote presentation at AQPs 25th Annual Conference Monday, Feb. 24, 2003.

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