RICHARD P. GREGORY, IV, PhD.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, I am the 4th Richard P. Gregory in my family, though the only “Rick”. After moving quite a bit as a youngster, my family settled in Greenfield, Indiana for my “formative years”. I graduated from Greenfield High School and then earned degrees from University of Indianapolis (B.A. in Chemistry; B.A. in Math) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (M.S. and Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry). I joined P&G in 1977 in the Analytical Chemistry Section of the Toilet Goods Division. In 1981, I moved to Health & Personal Care Product Development, initially in Analytical measurement science; later leading the caries research group (Crest). I left P&G in 1985 to pursue fame and fortune at PepsiCo in Valhalla, NY, but rejoined P&G in August 1986 in the Health Care Technology Division. I shared my journey of leaving and returning to P&G in a joint presentation with Tony Balchunas entitled “If the Grass Looks Greener, Check First for Septic Tanks” (apologies, of course, to Erma Bombeck).
I remained an Analytical Section manager until 1993, when I co-designed and led the Seminar of Dreams R&D ideation symposium at the Museum Center in Cincinnati. This proved to be the watershed event that led to my career focus on creative facilitation helping teams creatively transform their ideas into action. To enable my efforts, I co-created and led the Power Rascals, a skunk works facilitator network that actually now extends beyond P&G. Additionally, I assumed leadership of the Idea Lab, a creative “conference room”, where I honed my facilitation skills using CPS (Creative Problem Solving) processes and computer-based ideation technologies. From 1994 until my retirement in 2012, I was the Innovation Evangelist for R&D’s Global Technology Council (GTC), leading workshops for technology re-application across Business Unit boundaries, Strategic Visioning, and technical problem solving. I was the co-chair for the R&D Communities of Practice leadership network (CoPNET).
I was instrumental in starting and leading many collaboration and innovation-enabling efforts during my time as the Innovation Evangelist at P&G. Examples include:
- The GTC-sponsored Cross-Fertilization Seminars
- The Power Rascal facilitation Network
- The Japan Seminar of Dreams
- The HCRC Idea Lab (I assumed leadership from Jim Donovan)
- The North American Technology Council (NATC)
- Community of Practice Start Up/Energizing Programs
- The CoPNET leadership network
- Patent Blitz Workshops
- Strategic Vision Workshops
- High Quality Video Conference Capability for the GTC
- The Design/Implementation of the Mega-Communities of Practice (CoPs)
I spent the last 6 years of my P&G career at the GYM, a P&G creative/innovation space developed, in part, by IDEO, and chartered by P&G Senior Management to lead teams to breakthrough innovation. The GYM, in many ways a logical evolution of the Idea Lab & Power Rascal network, was the perfect place for me to master leading innovation and creative thinking at P&G. I became an “in demand” master facilitator, designing and facilitating more than 1,200 creative sessions/workshops around the globe for P&G. I am now an Innovation Evangelist For Hire bringing innovation and creative thinking into a wide variety of venues, including school districts, colleges, universities and businesses.
Personally, I am very interested in and inspired by music, which I bring not only to my workshops, but also to my “weekend gig”– that of a professional DJ [RockinRick, the PhDJ]. I am also the Voice of the North Oldham High School Lady Mustangs Basketball Team (Goshen, KY). A fun fact (at least to me): Prior to graduate school, I had a Rock ‘n Roll radio show on a Classical Music Station in Indianapolis! I guess I’ve been a bit out of the box for a while now.
“Rick is one of the most creative, energetic, media-embracing facilitators I’ve had the opportunity to work with. He understands what it takes to jog the rutted mind out of its channels and think freshly. His long tenure with P&G gives him special insight into its culture, and the dynamics of large, innovative, consumer products companies.” –David Sibbet, President, The Grove Consultants International