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 658: Impressions

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“Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others.”

The first impression is a moment to manage. We all know how important a first impression can be and in business where time is precious and patience runs short, the first impression’s importance is multiplied many times over. We can do our best to make the first impression our best in how we speak, hold ourselves, and yes, how we dress. Yet, it can’t be completely controlled as long as there is another person involved. The person on the other side of the table or the handshake comes to that moment with their own set of preconceived notions, emotions and filters. It is nearly impossible for us to know what is in their mind or what they have already faced that day that is going to enhance or taint their impression of us. What we can do is put our best foot forward and ensure that we are doing our best to make a connection with them. If by nothing else, if we make those first moments together a time of listening closely and allowing the other person to talk about themselves for a bit so we can get a sense of the mood and their willingness to open up, then we have a better chance of doing well with them. I was listening to a very senior executive describe an interview she recently had where the person doing the interview never asked one question during their hour long session. She said that the interviewer would just throw out random thoughts, sometimes provocative and challenging, and then let those thoughts just sit there until she would pick up on them and continue the riff. As she left the interview she had no idea what impression she had made but she had a really good feel for what kind of person he was and had felt that she had been able to adapt to his style. I suspect because of this, she made a good first impression. So, we never know when we are going to be making a first impression, but let’s remember, it is a moment to manage, be thoughtful around, and most importantly be sure that we put the other person first.

For those of us who are purposefully working to bring glory to God in our work and lives the first impression, and every ongoing impression, is even that much more significant. Paul gives us a tip in Philippians when he tells us that we not to live to make a good impression on others. He is right, if we were to totally focus and live just to make a good impression then we would spend all of our time thinking about ourselves, thus why he says in the beginning of the verse, “Don’t be selfish”. That said, we still must manage our impressions as we know others are always watching and those impressions whether the first, or ongoing, are critical in how others can or can’t see Christ reflected through us. Take a moment and reflect on yesterday. What type of impression did you leave on others? Were there actions and words that if you could take them back you would? For me personally when I ask myself that question the answer is always yes, because I know that I can only get better. Today is the day to make your impressions better than yesterday, especially those first impressions that are there for you to begin today in the best and right way.

Reference: Philippians 2:3 (New Living Testament)