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 3K183: Learn A Lot

“My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. …”

It’s that time of year when recently graduated students are starting their first jobs.  I’ve been asked, more times than I can remember, “What’s the secret to early success?”.  Well, it’s hard to say that there is a one-size fits all secret, but I can say that success can come with being a learner and I mean a learner who wants to learn a lot.  Anyone who goes to extra effort to learn more than others will be the one who gets the extra opportunities because the boss sees an attitude that is hungry and willing to do what it takes to know as much as one can.  This goes beyond just asking or studying, this means being willing to “do” and “try”.  When we do and try new things, we learn and as best as I can tell you from my experience, it is a great way to learn a lot!

The Bible says much about seeking knowledge about God and what He has imparted to us. So many of the verses bring us back to the gaining of wisdom, wisdom that is from God.  Wisdom allows us to live a life that has a broader and deeper perspective.  Wisdom allows to see mistakes and cautions before we err or slip.  Wisdom allows us to teach others and be helpful in others’ lives.  With all of the potential of this kind of wisdom, why wouldn’t we want to go deeper and deeper, always striving to learn a lot!

Reference: Proverbs 2:1-2 (New Living Translation)

Happy Labor Day here in the U.S.  Enjoy the long weekend!