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 1324: Authority?

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“The Man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and, all your mind.’, And, ‘Love your neighbor a yourself.'”

Where does authority come from?  We tend to think that it comes from hierarchy and titles within a company.  While that is part of where authority emanates, it also comes from credibility.  Credibility can be earned in many way, but from my experience the fastest and more sustainable method to build credibility is to be ready to have a point of view that is grounded with both data and facts and supported by emotion and conviction.  The analyst that just reports the numbers doesn’t gain authority without having a point of view about the data that she/he believes and will stand behind firmly.  I’ve seen youth supersede and trump experience many times because the young and bright come at it with all they have and they become almost impossible to ignore or not to call upon in the future.  Don’t miss the opportunity to establish your authority by just being ready, grounded and sure.

Would you be surprised that the greatest commandments of all were reported by Jesus, not actually said by Him first?  In Luke we learn of the questioning by Jesus of an expert in religious law.  In one answer, this person summarized the commandments that had been given to the people over all the ages and Jesus affirmed his answer by saying, “Right!”  Now how cool would that have been to have been the one who God Himself commended for summing it all up?  We, even in our flawed human state, can have a huge impact if we only will step forward, respond and be ready to state our beliefs.  God has given us the opportunity to carry His authority into the world for Him.  It’s an awesome responsibility and one that we need to step up to with all the seriousness we can muster.

Reference: Luke 10:27 (New Living Translation)