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 1460: The Slipstream

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“So let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good.”

Last week I took two very long bike rides with my brother-in-law.  Both days the wind was terrible and we needed each other to take turns battling the headwinds while the other dropped behind to draft off the other. It was interesting that the next morning, I read Seth Godin’s blog and he addressed drafting (almost like he was on the ride with us).  He addressed the aerodynamics of drafting, but also added that drafting works because “the real reason is mental, not based on physics. Drafting works because, right in front of you is proof that you can go faster.”  I buy that (but the slipstream is still real) and he encourages us to find someone who we can follow to fall in pace behind them.  That also makes sense whether we do so as an individual or business.  I do see the further lesson that we should let others take on the wind for us anytime we can so that we can be there when we need to be with reserved energy.  Few can go the full distance and win if they have to be the ones to take all the wind of what it means to be the first, the whole way.  I have watched many a start-up just not make it the finish line first because they had to do all the spending to create the market, learn all the lessons the hard way, experience all of the difficulties of the consumer trying to figure out what to do and how to do it. Finding a spot to sit just in the slipstream, ready to jump ahead when the moment is right can be good strategy.

This Christ-centered life of following Jesus comes with much learning that we will be better off if we gather together.  Solomon tells us this. The world is hard enough and the headwinds that we face with trying to live a faith-driven life, can many times feel like they are beating us back.  But, if we go at it together and take our turns supporting and encouraging each other we can create a slipstream that can keep the strongest and the weakest working together. Is there someone at work you can begin to “work together” with?  Is there someone at work who needs you today to take on the wind so that they can gain some rest before they must ride back out on their own?

Reference: Job 34:4 (New Living Translation)