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 506: Open Door Policy

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It’s often heard when a new leader comes onto the scene that she or he will tell their team that they operate under an “open door policy”. This means that the leader is trying to tell everyone that he/she will be accessible and that people on the team should feel free to stop by any time and talk about what is on their mind. In all reality, few really can follow up on that promise as the calendar fills with meetings, travel, management duties, etc. I saw a tweet recently from a friend who said that the person who created the open door policy never got anything done. Having personally worked in a cubicle for seven years and then another two and a half years just out in the open, I can relate to the statement. When our entire management team was sitting out in the open, our version of the closed door was when we would put our iPod ear buds in our ears. Even then, it was very easy for anyone to just walk up and start a conversation. In hindsight, there was many a day when I sure wished I could have been in an office for a few hours each day and shut a door to think and just do. But as a leader, being accessible for those who felt they needed me, probably far outweighed those lost hours of concentration and focus. Even if we don’t have an office with a door, being available and having our proverbial doors open to others is a good thing. This is not the only time that we should pay attention to doors that are closed or open. Jesus tells us; “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” So, today, it is not only someone who works for you, or someone you work with who wants you to open the door. God wants you to have the ultimate open door policy for Him at all times.

Revelation 3:20 (New Living Testament)