Everyone knows the name Richard “Dick” Pogue. His name is usually preceded by the work “legend” as in the Legendary Dick Pogue or simply as “Mr. Cleveland”. As Managing Partner at Jones Day Reavis and Pogue and beyond he led the Cleveland business, civic and philanthropic community.
He foresaw the importance of international markets and told us the story of how he was told ‘You can’t get there from Cleveland. The clients won’t take you seriously. Unless you have a New York office, forget it.’ But he pressed on and began growing offices in London, Paris, Riyadh, Geneva, Hong Kong, Brussels, Tokyo, Taipei, Frankfurt and so on.
In 1988, Cleveland Magazine named Dick “the most powerful man in the city” He played a role in most of the most meaningful civic accomplishments in Cleveland’s history including securing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. It’s a great story!
He told us how he created a minority hiring task force in 1987, which visited each U.S. Firm office, met with their recruiting committees, and suggested strategies for seeking out minority lawyers. He also opened the door for women partners leading to the hiring of Naoma Stewart as Jones Day’s first female lawyer and then not only the first female partner in firm history but possibly the first female partner at any major Cleveland law firm.
He tells of the famous public-private partnerships that he and other city leaders established to get the city out of default and back on track to a resurgence with Mayor George Voinovich and others. He told us how he helped give voice to the minority community as a founder and chairman of the Greater Cleveland Roundtable, an urban coalition comprised of leaders from business, education, labor, civic, and religious organizations to facilitate minority economic inclusion and improve multicultural and multiracial relations in the city.
Now age 97 he is still active and busy with civic and philanthropic activities. He shares his 40-40-20 plan that allowed him to fill his 12-18 hour work days with the most effective and productive efforts. Watch the interview.
