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 778: Do The Right Thing – Part 10: Peace

purposed worKING No Comments

“Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

There is a certain moment of peace and calm when we know that we have made the right decision. That peace can come over us, a bunch of us all at once, in a conference room, on the manufacturing floor, in the Boardroom, or even walking down the hall. We just know when we have done the right thing and that the decision was the right one. The same peace can come over us when we complete a project in the right way or close of the difficult conversation in a way that everyone feels as good as they can about the situation. When it happens, we know it and don’t we wish that we felt it more often? There is also a peace that comes among a team when everyone gets on the same page and knows that they have made the right decision in the right way. I won’t even begin to speculate how often this really happens but when it does it is palpable. As leaders, managers, supervisors, or even as co-workers, we should strive for the right kind of decisions to be made and those being the one where everyone is heard, a good discussion has taken place, no corners were cut in the process, the facts and truth is there in an obvious and evident way, and once the decision is made, everyone aligns and no one tries to second guess or undercut the decision. This can bring peace within our companies. Few companies value that we can work together in peace, but we can, if we so desire and strive for it. Having worked with many CEO’s, I remember distinctly an era where one CEO did just that and the company thrived, grew and was admired across the world as a great company for shareholders, employees, customers, vendors and consumers. The same company was not many years later in disarray, turmoil, controversy and under major competitive threats and losses because the CEO managed 180 degrees in philosophy to the CEO of the past. More case studies should be done on this phenomena as it relates to a company’s growth and profitability.

We also know when we are doing the right thing by the peace that have in our hearts and minds. Think about the times when everything has been in the right alignment and the decision made, or the action taken, brought about peace within you. And now think of the opposite and the worry and stress that came from the decision or the action that was questionable. Those who choose to live and work in that place must be tormented beyond comprehension. We have to look no farther than the impact that one man had on the financial world, his family, his investors and their families, and on and on, all because his scheme and decisions were built on nothing. Today, let’s check our decisions and determination about whether or not we are doing the right thing by the peace that we will have if we do, or we don’t. And, then let’s call upon the promise of peace that we can’t even begin to understand. Bringing our decisions, big or small, to God in prayer and then following His direction can give us the assurance and peace that we are doing the right thing.

Lastly, I would also like to take a moment and wish and pray for each of you to have a peaceful and bountiful Thanksgiving with your family and friends. Also, many of our tables around America tomorrow will be welcoming home those who are or who have served our country so that we may all live in peace and freedom. May we all give thanks and be grateful for what they have and are doing and giving for each of us. Happy Thanksgiving!

Reference: Philippians 4:6-7 (New Living Testament)