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 704: Debts

purposed worKING No Comments

“Pay all your debts, except the debt of love for others. You can never finish paying that! If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill all the requirements of God’s law.”

Business cares about the amount of debt that carried on the balance sheet. When debt gets too high, we can’t borrow, or if we try and borrow, it will be very expensive. Companies that can grow their business without incurring debt remain more nimble and have greater leverage. Although some companies carry debt for the ability to invest, or move quickly, it is probably fair to say that most companies would prefer to be debt-free, or as close to debt-free as possible. As we have heard a lot about in the past few months, the argument we have seen about debt and debt ceilings is a controversial and inflammatory subject. Without debt, there would be no reason to have the fight. Without debt, there would not be the worries, the anxiety, or the concerns. So, as we think about how we grow our businesses, consider whether or not debt can be avoided or quickly paid down.

God tells us that that we should pay what we owe and pay all of our debts, except for one. That is the debt of love that we owe to others. We can’t ever pay that off? And why not, we may ask? Because the love that God shed for us is more than we could ever expect to receive and to honor Him we must carry His love into the world. So, as we think about what we owe, know that we owe to other to provide them the love that is the love of Jesus Christ and we are to share and give that love to them freely. Is there someone at work today who needs some love and won’t receive any, unless it is us who step forward? Let’s do what is owed of us and be glad that this is one debt that we do carry.

Reference: Romans 13:7 (New Living Testament)