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 750: Golden Parachutes (repost)

purposed worKING No Comments

“Those in in frequent contact with things of the world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them, for the world and all its contents will pass away.”

There has been a lot of talk again about the golden parachutes that senior executives continue to receive. The term golden parachute describes the generous severance benefits that are created for executives when they lose their jobs. It is supposed to give them a gentle landing into their next job, etc. Unfortunately, the size of these parachutes have gone from a gentle landing to allowing them to stay in the air for as long as they want with no touchdown in sight. As we see these doled out, it is no wonder that people within a company begin to mistrust or question whether or not the senior people and a Board are taking care of themselves over others. We also are seeing more and more people wanting to negotiate, upon their hiring, some type of severance package. This comes from the fears over the last few years of losing a job not because of personal performance but because of circumstances outside of our control. There is nothing wrong with having a separation package already worked out, but it is the underlying needs and motivation that most matter.

If we are counting on the things of the world to be there for us throughout our entire life, then we are counting on the wrong things. Whether it be our home, our finances, our relationships or our health, all the things of this world are the wrong places to be putting our faith. Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 7:31; “Those in in frequent contact with things of the world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them, for the world and all its contents will pass away.” The question is not if they will pass away, the question is when. If we are working and living counting on our golden parachute to be there when we decide to pull the rip cord, then we may find ourselves sorely disappointed. God doesn’t want to give us a parachute for a soft landing, He wants to give us wings to soar through our life. If we look to Him for our future then we will never have to worry about being let down. Let’s think about this today as we start this work week and ensure that we have put our future in the right hands.

Reference: 1 Corinthians 7:31 (New Living Testament)