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 537; Alertness

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For most of us, alertness comes after the second cup of coffee or the morning workout. Thinking about being alert early in the AM is hard for a lot of people. I just happen to be wired to be a morning person so I enjoy getting up early, but alertness is not so great for me later in the day and into the evening. Being alert is a skill. Even when our bodies are alert it does not mean that our mind is the same. We can let our minds drift or be caught up in a different thought and totally miss what is going on around us and while we are totally awake, we are not alert. In today’s business environment, being alert seems more important than ever. Being finely tuned to what is going on around us and being smartly aware of where the business cycle is going as it relates to our own companies and jobs has become important. If for nothing else, there are many people who feel like they need to be this alert for survival in the workplace. The fear of losing a job is still high and the concerns about what will happen next with the economy and employment remains of great interest and consternation. Staying alert has become an important part of what we need to do. But staying alert to the world is not enough. To be totally in touch with ourselves and what we are supposed to be doing with our work and lives we must be just as, and more so, alert and in tune with God as we are the with world we live within. Jesus told his disciples to stay alert in Mark 14:38; “Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overcome you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak.” Today, gauge how alert you are and not only how alert you are to the world around you, but to what God has in store for you and what He is trying to say to you. This is the level of alertness that He wants from us and His words are as true for us today as they were for His disciples.

Reference: Mark 14:38 (New Living Testament)