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 1209: Being Disruptive

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“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations…”

Consider this.  Someone says that you are being disruptive. What do you think they are saying and how should you take this?  Up until very recently, you would have felt corrected and would be trying to figure out how and who you need to go apologize to for disrupting.  That was, until now, when the word disruptive has taken on a new meaning.  Now when you are called disruptive, it can mean that you are being entrepreneurial, visionary, courageous, etc.  Bill Jensen, a business thought leader I respect a lot just published his new book, “Disrupt! Think Epic. Be Epic”.  I was fortunate enough to be one of his 100 Disruptive Heroes within the book. I had to smile and wish I could go back and let me first grade teacher know that being disruptive turned out okay. To be fair, Bill also acknowledges those who are anchors; the steady, the voices of reason, those who have proven wisdom.  To make it all come together, we need both and what we can learn is that we can create strength from both sides of the coin, if we only choose to learn and view all as additive and able to advance and improve what we find as our challenges.

Who would ever argue that Jesus was not the greatest disruptor to ever walk the earth?  He turned the world’s thinking upside down and inside out.  But, as He disrupted, He did so in a way that others joined his movement of disrupting with love.  He today looks for more disruptors to join Him in showing the world that there is another way.  He wants us to start that disruption right in front of us with those that are closest to us, working inside out through those we love, those we work with, those we associate, those we happen to meet.  We are faced with the question today, will be a disruptor for Jesus?

Reference: Matthew28:19 (New Living Translation)