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 900: Wealth Creation

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“Have I put my trust in money or felt secure because of my gold? Does my happiness depend on my wealth and all that I own?”

Now having been around the track a few times I can watch those who have worked for me succeed and yes, career wise, even pass by me on their own way to the top of their organizations and career.  I love nothing more than to see it happen.  With it also I can see some who are accumulating great amounts of wealth and struggling on what to do with it.  I have long said that as humans we are not built for fame or fortune that comes to us too fast or prematurely.  For some, who happen to be in the right company at the right time, an enormous amount of wealth creation can occur and then others watch to see if they are ready and able to handle what is happening.  I become fearful for these people and I do my best to encourage them to not lose perspective and don’t get caught in the traps that come from too much trappings too fast. We don’t do a great job with coaching and mentoring people during these times. We need look no further than to the world of professional sports and celebrities to see how wealth creation can destroy someone.  As we lead our companies and we bring up the next generation we would do well to spend the extra time in teaching someone how to manage their finances and how to keep this in a perspective that doesn’t lose the long view.


As believers we know how hard it is for a rich man to find his way to heaven.  It is not because God does not love the rich, it is because the rich are more likely to love their wealth than God. The more we are financially secure the more self-dependent we become and that is the anti-thesis of how we are to live.  We are to give ourselves to God and be dependent on Him, not on ourselves or our wealth.  Money can be a great thing when we know how to manage it, how to keep it in tow, and how to not let it become the lord of our lives. While today you may not be concerned with having too much money, the question still remains as to how much the creation of wealth is driving decisions, thoughts, life patterns and our actions?  Let’s today ask the question that Job poses for us and be sure that we are being honest with ourselves to know the true answer.

Reference: Job 31:24 (New Living Testament)