The Value of a Kitchen Cabinet

There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn't mind who gets the credit.

—Ronald Reagan²

While he was governor of California, as well as during his time as president in Washington, D.C., Ronald Reagan relied on what he fondly referred to as his Kitchen Cabinet. It was a group of friends and accomplished individuals who were eager to apply their skills, energy, and experiences to advance the goals of Ronald Reagan and his presidency.

This group of 10 to 12 businessmen was composed of strong advocates for the free market system and firm believers in core conservative principles. They provided unofficial advice and personal support to Ronald Reagan from the perspective of business owners, taxpayers, informed citizens, and active participants in the political process.

The people who comprised his Kitchen Cabinet were accomplished, successful individuals in their own right, not nodding, sycophantic yes-men. They were trusted advisors he knew would be tough with him when needed, yet always supportive, even when they disagreed. They shared his vision and were committed to seeing it realized, no matter the personal effort or sacrifice it required.

The difference between mediocre leadership and exceptional leadership often is defined by your ability to cultivate and engage your own Kitchen Cabinet. A true leader recognizes the need to be surrounded with excellence and is wise enough to create an environment where other voices are heard and where advice can be freely given and graciously received.

One example of an environment where this Kitchen Cabinet philosophy thrives is Vistage International. Vistage is a peer-to-peer membership organization for CEOs, business owners, and executives. It helps leaders grow their businesses by aiding in making important decisions and providing a trusted sounding board. Whether you rely on Vistage, a group of friends, colleagues, or coworkers, or an informal group of advisors you have assembled, it is important to realize the value of being a lifelong learner, always looking to grow and improve as a leader and learn something new from others.

So who is in your Kitchen Cabinet? Do you even have one? Who should you include? I would look for two to five people you trust and admire and who add value to your life. These people should be willing to be brutally honest with you, share your vision, and be success-oriented. They don't have to be close friends, and maybe they shouldn't be. They may be business associates, mentors, or acquaintances whom you admire. No formal invitation to “Join My Kitchen Cabinet” is required. Just ask them if from time to time they would be willing to let you seek their advice or be willing to share some professional insight and wisdom with you. Discuss big decisions with them. Honestly talk about successes and failures, hopes and fears.

So following in Ronald Reagan's footsteps, I have my own Kitchen Cabinet, which is composed of about half a dozen handpicked individuals whom I trust implicitly for advice and counsel. When I need to make a crucial business decision, I talk to my Kitchen Cabinet. If a majority of them tell me not to do something, I probably won't do it. But if a majority tell me do it, I may take a calculated risk and try to make it happen. I trust and value their various backgrounds, experiences, and expertise to steer me appropriately.

My Kitchen Cabinet is an unlikely collection of individuals and mentors who have been brought into my life in various ways. If they all say no, I really listen. As my father used to say, they usually give me “just enough rope to hang myself” if I choose to, but I trust their judgment and their investment in my life and my business enough to tell me the truth, even when I do not really want to hear it or may disagree.

One of my key Kitchen Cabinet members is Ron Bailey. Meeting Mr. Bailey was life changing. His profound influence on my life and in my business is beyond measure. I will forever be indebted to him for believing in me, inspiring me, challenging me, motivating me, and being a consistent example of excellence and wisdom.

In my first business, Red, White & Blue Vending, one of my first large accounts was Strayer University. The office manager at one of the Strayer campuses had gone to a rival Southern California university, the University of Southern California (USC). Having a cross-town rival University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) graduate asking him for business brought him great pleasure.

Nonetheless, he gave me a chance to provide vending services at Strayer's Alexandria, Virginia, campus, which immediately became one of my biggest accounts. I would travel with my route drivers to Strayer and work with them to fill the machines to ensure appropriate product placement and excellent customer service.

While there, I started talking with a man I assumed to be a professor. He would ask me about my business, and I, in turn, would offer him free snacks out of appreciation for his interest and kindness. This went on for months until one day he left the vending area and my USC friend came in and asked me, “What did Mr. Bailey want?”

“Mr. Bailey?” I said. “What does he do here?”

“He owns Strayer!”

The words were barely out of his mouth before I was running down the hallway to catch Mr. Bailey and said, “Mr. Bailey, you own Strayer?” He turned to me, and his response would become symbolic of his humble, genuinely authentic leadership.

“Does it matter?” he replied.

“Yes, it does,” I said, “because I want to provide the vending on every one of your campuses.”

Again, his response was so symbolic and meaningful. “Then earn it.”

“Okay, now you have challenged me,” I said.

Within a year I had contracts for all 10 of his campuses and would go on to work with his development team to put Red, White & Blue Vending machines on all subsequent Strayer campuses.

In the years to come, Ron Bailey would become both a trusted mentor and a true friend. He took the time and interest to look over the profit and loss and balance sheets of my company every year. In fact, he really taught me how to read them.

To this day I am grateful for the advice Mr. Bailey gives me and appreciate his serving as chairman of the board for my current business, America's Choice Title Company. We have started other businesses together as well. My life is better in every way for having met him and I am blessed to have him as a Kitchen Cabinet member and a friend.

Finding and Feeding Motivation

I know our people will not fail America. They never have. Our task is to be sure our leaders do not fail the American people.

—Ronald Reagan³

For you, as a leader, great effectiveness can come from investing in the personal development of others and finding ways to increase their professional commitment and maximize their tangible contributions. If you can discover what is at the heart of the motivation of others, that is where you will find the secret to unleashing their full potential and engaging their best effort.

Often, motivations may be quite different than what you might assume. I have found in my conversations with CEOs that many of them, and justifiably so, believe the primary reason their employees come to work is for money. Interestingly enough, when I talk to employees within those same companies, the answers from employees vary greatly, but the primary reason they state is appreciation.

People are motivated by many different things—maybe they crave appreciation and respect but don't get it at home. Perhaps they are a single parent who is in need of health insurance and that is their primary motivation. It may be their desire for camaraderie or positive interactions with like-minded individuals. Motivations can be as varied and unique as each person.

Learning to identify those motivations in others—and to engage and encourage them uniquely based on their individual motivation—will lead to increased engagement, productivity, and enthusiasm for your overall vision.

By asking questions and really listening to the responses, key motivations can be fairly easily identified. These motivations in and of themselves should not necessarily be seen as right or wrong; rather, it is the process by which you identify and maximize the interest and motivation of others that will ultimately inspire participation and engage productive action.

When I ran my very first business, Red, White & Blue Vending, I was extremely fortunate to have Kirk Murray as my operations manager. He was a hard worker, as loyal as could be, did everything that was expected of him, showed up every day, and was a genuine asset to my organization. I discovered early on that Kirk always gave his best effort, and was motivated by the financial reward which resulted. As a business owner, I needed to find a way to feed that motivation and maximize his commitment while rewarding him in a way that recognized him properly—through his paycheck.

After much consideration and number crunching, I came up with a way to motivate Kirk and sought him out strategically the day before a four-day weekend to discuss it with him.

I said, “Kirk, I need to pay you more money.” This statement was predictably met with an ear-to-ear grin.

He responded, “I appreciate your recognizing that. I am working very hard for you. I will do anything you need me to do. So, exactly what kind of money are you talking about?” I could have written a script based on his response because I understood Kirk and the fact that he would appreciate this. He was enthusiastic: “What exactly does this mean? What do you want me to do?” he asked.

“For me to justify this, I need you to be me,” I replied. “I need you to care like I do, think like I do, sell like I do, handle problems like I do, and essentially be me when I'm not here. And the reward for that will be that for every day that I do not work in the next year, I will pay you a daily bonus, paid every two weeks in your regular paycheck. If I do not work the entire next year, you will get a 50 percent salary increase. If I work half the days in the upcoming year, you will still get a 25 percent increase.”

Kirk was already calculating the numbers in his head—and he loved those numbers. I continued, “You do all the scheduling, ordering, and inventory reports and handle all the problems. However, if there is a problem, you have to tell me. Even if I decide to deal with that particular problem, I will still pay you for that day.” I knew it was imperative for him to come to me and be transparent as issues arose and not be incentivized to hide problems from me. I also knew he would think about my offer, and the financial possibilities of it, all weekend long.

When Kirk came into the office on Tuesday morning he set a stack of papers on my desk and said, “You don't have to work for the next three months. Here is the inventory, the orders, the scheduling, and everything else that needs to be done.”

I had successfully identified his motivation and found a way to feed it and maximize it. Kirk benefitted, Red, White & Blue Vending benefitted, and I benefitted by freeing up my time to be out selling more and pursuing other personal and professional opportunities. It was a win-win all around.

Another example of finding and fueling motivation involves Christine Micieli, who runs one of my businesses. I am fortunate that she is just as loyal and hardworking as Kirk; however, her primary motivation is not specifically financial reward, it's increased responsibility. Christine is the best of the best. Her knowledge of the industry, her work ethic, and her loyalty are unparalleled.

When the real estate market began its downward slide in 2006, Christine was the first one in my office expressing her concern. She recognized that the market was bottoming out—and quickly. She knew that we needed to start cutting back on expenses—and staffing—immediately.

I sat down with her and said, “You are smart enough to know that times are challenging right now and are going to be so for a while moving forward. As a result, I am going to need you to do something for me.…I need you to take on more responsibility. Would you be willing to do that? I would really appreciate it.” A small accepting smile was given in response. To my surprise she said, “Cut my salary, do whatever it takes to make sure that we as a company survive. I love this company.”

Christine loves the work and the responsibility and authority that come with it. I properly identified her motivation and adequately fed it. Now, of course, I also was fair to her monetarily for assuming additional responsibility and an increased workload. But because that was not primary to her, I did not lead my conversation with her by trying to use that as a primary motivator.

Christine helped navigate through some challenging years in a down market, and her expertise and perseverance allowed us to not only stay in business but continue to grow and expand.

I also remember well a story my father told me about motivation and how he learned the power and importance of it early in his own life. My dad grew up in North Dakota with eight brothers and sisters, all of whom left school around the eighth grade to work for the family's moving business. He never got paid a wage, and even when my father ultimately left home, he was asked to leave his clothes behind for his younger brothers. He worked all that time and didn't even get to keep his own clothes.

With no money, no high school education, and certainly no college education, he joined the United States Air Force. After finishing his commitment, he went to work for Santa Fe Railroad. Eventually he worked his way up to a management position, where one day he had an encounter with an employee who had recently seemed to turn on him and had begun treating him differently—and was becoming very mean and bitter toward him.

My father called this employee into his office and asked him what was going on. The employee said, “Do I have permission to speak candidly to you?” My dad replied that he would expect nothing less, so the man continued. “You give me all the crap jobs. There are a bunch of guys out there, but you give me all of the worst jobs, and I am sick of it. I am fed up with it. I do not deserve it. I work hard for you.”

My father started laughing. As you can imagine, this response was not well received, so the employee demanded to know what was so funny. My dad said, “Do you know why I give you those crap jobs? I am so sorry. It is my fault for not telling you sooner, but look at that group of guys out there—not one of them is half as good as you are. I know that if I give you even the most difficult job, that you will get it done. I don't even have to think about it. It will be done thoroughly, on time, and completed in a professional manner. But do you deserve that? No way. So I apologize. I will not let that happen again. Thank you for what you have done so far. I do not know what I would do without you.”

Silence.

After several moments, the employee smiled and said to my father, “I want you to keep giving me all those crap jobs.” He wanted to be the go-to guy for everything. It meant the world to him to have the trust and confidence of his boss, and he was willing to work hard to earn it and retain it.

Imagine if you could do this throughout your company, organization, or family: identify and encourage the unique motivations behind everyone's efforts. What kind of family or organization would that create? How efficient and effective could it be if those around you were fully engaged and eager to do their best and were rewarded accordingly?

Where you come from shapes who you are. Everyone is different, and you have a better chance of successfully leading if you can identify motivations and then match them with rewards in that specific direction as much as possible.

By identifying the motivation and maximizing it, the contributions will be greater and the personal investment will be greater as well. It benefits everyone when people grow, expand their own leadership capacity, and succeed personally and professionally. An inspirational leader invests in the betterment of others, uniquely and specifically, helping each one to excel and achieve.

As a leader, if you can find and feed the individual motivations of others, they will work harder, be more loyal, take more initiative, and be more committed to the overall vision.

Just as Ronald Reagan inspired the motivations of ordinary Americans to pursue their own unique vision for their future and contribute to his expansive view for our nation, we can inspire and motivate those around us to pursue personal excellence that will also foster positive motivation and encouragement in others.

Expand Leadership

Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere.

—Ronald Reagan⁴

I have hired hundreds of people over the years, which has given me ample opportunity to make some terrific hiring decisions, as well as some that I have later regretted or had to retract. As a result, I have developed in my head a list of the specific traits I look for and value in a potential employee—what I like to call the GOLD Standard.

When evaluating and interviewing potential employees, my goal is to seek individuals who demonstrate four simple traits. My dream employee is known by the acronym GOLD and is characterized by the following attributes:

Gratitude (G) is important for many reasons—people should not just be thankful for the opportunities that life presents, but also grateful for the people around them. They should consistently seek out ways to demonstrate their thankfulness in both word and action. Their life should be characterized by an “Attitude of Gratitude”—a constant awareness of others and appreciation for the ways in which others invest in and contribute to their life.

Optimism (O) is contagious! Ronald Reagan always figuratively viewed “the glass not just as half full, but as overflowing with opportunity.” True, authentic optimism permeates everything around it. Like yeast in dough which causes it to rise, a little bit of optimism goes a long way and allows everything around it to rise—creating an environment where anything seems to be—and is—possible.

Loyalty (L) matters. When CEOs talk to me about their employees, one of the recurring themes they are concerned about is loyalty. They want to surround themselves with people who believe in them, who believe in their product, and in the mission or goals of the organization. A loyal employee will work hard to do their best, exhibiting loyalty and enthusiastic support.

Determination (D) is essential. Obstacles are sure to come, but those who are determined to achieve their desired results will find opportunity, not look for excuses to fall back on. I want to surround myself with people who find additional incentives and see the possibilities that exist in the midst of each challenge. Many people assume a victim mentality once they face hardship. I prefer to look within myself to find additional strength and determination when challenges come—and they certainly will. I want those around me to approach life with skill, passion and determination, always expecting the best outcome.

That is it. My dream employee. Why are those simple traits a winning combination? As a leader, you want others around you who are Grateful, Optimistic, Loyal, and Determined. Think of all that could be accomplished if you are surrounded by people who embody the GOLD Standard of excellence in these ways!

Another of my true mentors in addition to President Reagan is the founder of the Leadership Institute, Morton Blackwell. I believe as he does that there are two things to look for in the people who surround you: sustained enthusiasm and the ability to get along with others. Everything else can be trained, learned, taught, or practiced.

People have to want to work through challenges and problems that will surely arise. If they don't have sustained enthusiasm for the task at hand and are not fully committed to the long-term goals and vision, they will not be an asset. They also have to be able to get along with others. It is difficult for adults who haven't learned how to play nicely by now to start learning; you don't want them on your team. If one of these values is missing, that person will be like a malignancy that has the potential to destroy everything and everyone around them.

As an example, one woman in my office would bring in balloons and a present for others on their birthdays—unless she didn't like you. In that case, on your birthday, you got nothing.

People would joke, “I guess I'm on her bad list. Today's my birthday but no balloons or gifts.” Yet behind the joking there was an underlying sense of rejection and embarrassment. It became a negative focus within my office, and I ultimately had to fire her because of this, as well as several other reasons. In addition to her unfairness to other employees, she had become toxic to our working environment.

Within 48 hours of that employee's termination, nearly everyone who had worked with her came by my office and thanked me for taking action. Had I allowed her to stay, knowing of her negative effect on others, I would have eventually started losing good employees who did not want to work with her or unwittingly fostered an underground office-wide rumbling of discontent that would undermine our work as a team. Nobody likes to fire people, including me. I once told my business mentor, Ron Bailey, how much I hate firing people. He said, “Good. That tells me you have a soul. But you need to realize that the fault lies with you—not them. Either you (a) did not hire correctly in the beginning, or (b) you did not have enough business in the right area to keep that person in that position.” So true, but often hard to hear. Making that decision and ultimately cutting out the toxicity relieves pressure on you as a leader and often improves the energy and morale of your entire team.

In order to avoid hiring the wrong people, we need to learn how to hire the right people, those with sustained enthusiasm and an ability to get along with others and also need to accept the fact that change in the workplace is not always bad. Sometimes you can replace one negative presence with a positive one, and it changes everything else for the better.

The lesson here, though, is fire when you have to, but work hard to hire wisely and surround yourself with the right people in the first place.

I always admired President Reagan's ability to seek out the best, but also his willingness to make the tough and very public decision to fire someone. He desired excellence always and knew that in order to achieve it, everyone needed to be on board and headed in the same direction.

Invest in Excellence

There are no such things as limits to growth, because there are no limits on the human capacity for intelligence, imagination, and wonder.

—Ronald Reagan^*

Once you have hired well, you need to invest time and energy into those around you in order to add value to their lives, both personally and professionally. From a business perspective, this could mean rewarding long-term employees with additional training. For example, I encourage and support my employees to take the title exam or become notaries. Once I was asked by one of my employees why I was pushing so hard for her to become a licensed title agent. I explained that if she ever worked elsewhere, it would be a skill that would add value to her livelihood. She asked, “are you trying to get rid of me?” I responded, “No, I'm trying to help you.” She said, “I thought so, but it just feels strange.” How sad that she would think it was unusual for someone to sincerely want to help her and provide her with the opportunity to gain a personal and portable skill. And at the same time, she increased her value as part of my team. A true win-win.

Leaders should always look to invest in their organization by investing in the individuals who comprise it. Look for ways to creatively and tangibly build up those around you by investing in the excellence of others.

You can even do things that make others feel special or add tangible value to their personal lives. In my business I have brought in a financial specialist to confidentially help people one-on-one to prepare a balanced portfolio or plan for their retirement. I have also hired a massage therapist for anyone on staff who chose to have a half-hour massage therapy session. One 65-year-old employee approached me privately and told me it was the first massage she ever had. “It was incredible. I loved it—and for the record, you can do that again anytime you want!”

Another time, my daughter and her friend came home after getting a manicure and pedicure, I thought of all of the hard-working people in my office who would probably enjoy the same pampering. The next day, I asked the person in my office who heads up what I call my thank-you department to make appointments for anyone in the office for manicures and pedicures—and as a bonus—my staff was allowed to go during the workday to enjoy this special perk. It was wonderful to be able to reward their dedication with something they truly enjoyed and appreciated.

Your goal should be to build up others around you, making them feel needed, valued, and appreciated. When you creatively and thoughtfully invest time and effort, especially with industry-specific training, you also add value to your leadership portfolio, which adds expertise to your team and overall value to your company. Surrounding yourself with excellence is imperative to success and needs to be cultivated and maintained with great intention.

By always seeking the absolute best individuals to surround yourself with, you increase your effectiveness and your potential for success, growth, and excellence. By celebrating and taking pride in the success of those around you and looking for ways to build them up, you are opening up limitless possibilities for them personally, and for your team collectively. Weak leaders are threatened by smart, savvy people, whereas real leaders thrive on surrounding themselves with excellence, being personally challenged to always improve, and ultimately wanting the best for themselves and for the team.

Assembling the Team

Once the vision has been created, the right team needs to be assembled. It is an essential component of bringing personal and professional goals and dreams to fruition.

Those around you need to know they are an integral part of your team, because they are. If they were not essential, then you wouldn't and shouldn't surround yourself with them. The measure of your own success is, after all, ultimately based on their success. So choose wisely, identify primary motivations and feed them, encourage professional development, support personal growth, and celebrate all that can be accomplished by a motivated, fully engaged team.

Put the right people in the right positions, not based on years of association or friendship, but based on your assessment of how they truly add value to you and to the overall vision, uniquely strengthening and enhancing the team. By identifying strengths (using GOLD, for example), assembling the right team, growing professionally, and adhering to your core principles, your overall success and ability to motivate others dramatically increases.

Do you have a Kitchen Cabinet? Have you started thinking about those who can be part of one? If not, identify and engage one of your own. By learning from Ronald Reagan and his example of how to assemble the best team, you can inspire loyalty and earn and keep greater commitment from those around you, culminating in increased personal and professional success.