Author Archives: Rusty Rueff

About Rusty Rueff

Rusty Rueff, author of purposed worKING. Rusty Rueff is the former Chairman Emeritus of The GRAMMY Foundation in Los Angeles. He most recently completed the successful 16 month leadership role as Coordinating National Co-Chair for Technology for Obama (T4O) for the reelection of President Obama and ten-years of Board service and President of the Board of Trustees of the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Corporately, most recently Rueff was the Chief Executive Officer at SNOCAP, Inc. until the acquisition of the company by imeem, Inc. in April 2008. Before joining SNOCAP in 2005, he was Executive Vice President of Human Resources at Electronic Arts (EA) from 1998 until 2005. He was also with the PepsiCo companies for more than ten years, with the Pratt & Whitney division of United Technologies for two years, and in commercial radio as an on-air personality for six years. Rusty holds an M.S. in counseling and a B.A. in radio and television from Purdue University. In 2003 he was named a distinguished Purdue alumnus, and he and his wife, Patti, are the named benefactors of Purdue’s Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts. He is a corporate director of Glassdoor.com and runcoach. He is the co-founder and Executive Committee Member of T4A.org, serves on the Founding Circle of The Centrist Project and a founding Board Member of The GRAMMY Music Education Coalition. He is also the co-author of the book Talent Force: A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business. Rusty and his wife, Patti, reside in Hillsborough, CA and Charlestown, R.I.

day 1494: To Be Alive

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“Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’”

My friend Steve sent me this quote: “The Dead Sea is dead because it gives nothing away.” He was moved by it and when he shared it, I was too. No, I am not getting into oceanography (although nothing wrong with that for sure), but I read it the same way Steve did in that the Dead Sea is like you and me. If we don’t give of ourselves, then we become like the Dead Sea. It’s there but doesn’t serve the same purpose as waters that are full and giving back to fish, plant and the rest of life. We know people and companies that feel like the Dead Sea. There is no growth and there isn’t any excitement or attraction. It’s ironic, but the more we give, the more alive we can feel. When we see companies and employees give of themselves generously, the feeling of engagement and enthusiasm is nearly palpable. We need more of that in our workplaces.

The Good Samaritan gave of himself and likely felt more alive afterwards than he did before. He might have also felt the rush of taking a risk as he brought the hurt and broken man into an inn, when others would likely question what he was doing. And, his generous spirit lives on today as we look to him as an example for the rest of us, who might need feel alive at all as it relates to helping others. God wants us to be alive in body, mind and spirit. He gives us ways to be so, and certainly, giving way ourselves in His name will make us feel totally alive!

Reference: Luke 10:34-35 (New Living Translation)