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exciting for him professionally.<br />
“I became enamored with alternative<br />
sleep products and loved growing<br />
that company,” he says.<br />
In 2000, Nature’s Rest became<br />
part of Spring Air and so did Rick<br />
Robinson. The relationship continued<br />
for another six years until<br />
the mergers that gave Consolidated<br />
Bedding control of the brand also<br />
resulted in Robinson losing his job.<br />
It was the first time since he<br />
started working that he was out of a<br />
job and it felt terrible. But the feeling<br />
didn’t last long. Seven hours after<br />
leaving Spring Air, he says, he landed<br />
a consulting position with Australian<br />
bedding producer A.H. Beard and<br />
soon after, he became the company’s<br />
chief marketing officer.<br />
It’s what happened next that really<br />
puts a smile on Robinson’s face.<br />
“Three years from the day that<br />
www.sleepproducts.org/bedtimes<br />
I exited Spring Air, I came back as<br />
president,” he says. “It felt like fate.”<br />
An ongoing struggle Robinson<br />
describes himself as “extremely introverted.”<br />
“When I did sales training, I<br />
memorized names because it helped me<br />
get over my fear of standing in front of a<br />
group of people,” he says. “I’m good one<br />
on one and in small groups, but I feel<br />
lost in large groups of people.”<br />
The value of a team Robinson says he<br />
operates best in a team environment.<br />
“The quality and passion of the team I<br />
work with now is very satisfying, personally<br />
as well as professionally,” he says.<br />
A fresh set of eyes In 2006, Robinson<br />
worked in Australia as chief marketing<br />
officer for A.H. Beard. Living outside the<br />
United States gave him new perspective.<br />
“I wish Americans could see themselves<br />
through international eyes,” he says. “We<br />
really don’t understand other countries<br />
very well and we waste so much.”<br />
Winning words Do you think of<br />
Scrabble as a nice game to play occasionally<br />
with the kids? Not Robinson.<br />
He plays Scrabble in tournaments and<br />
is ranked as a world-class player.<br />
Dreams deferred “My life has been<br />
work, work, work. I would like to travel<br />
and actually see the places that I’ve<br />
only seen from hotels and airports. I’d<br />
also love to be able to play a musical<br />
instrument.”<br />
Cherished possession “I have a<br />
picture in my wallet of my kids when<br />
they were 4 and 6 years old,” he says. “I<br />
love looking at it and would probably<br />
go nuts if I lost it.” BT<br />
BedTimes | April 2010 | 83
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