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 473: Organization Charts

Organization charts are funny things. We all need them, but we usually only need them when we are trying to figure out something that we should already know, like who works where and for whom. I personally wish we didn’t need to have them as organization charts always signify that someone else is higher in the organization than another person and unless you are the lone box at the top, then it can be a negative reminder versus a positive one. That said, nearly every company has one and whether it is shared broadly or not, it is being used to make decisions, assignments and also to evaluate the scope and range of people’s ability to manage and lead. So, it is a useful tool, even with its flaws. In the book of Numbers, Chapter 2, we can see that the Israelites had their own organization chart, even way back then. They not only organized themselves but they also counted and tracked specifically the number of people in each of the Tribes. In many ways it is fascinating to see that organizational elements of how we work with others has not changed and have been here for a long time. Among all the counting and the organization charts that are put in front of us, what is important that we remember that we are more than just a number or a name in a box on a piece of paper. We are each individuals who have something specific and unique to offer to our work, our company and to those around us who share the work we do. Because we sit somewhere on an organization chart that doesn’t get called out or sit at the top, does not take away from the importance of the work we can do daily and for the Kingdom. Let today be a day where you see where you sit on the organization chart as a place of leverage, influence, and prominence for the glory that you can bring to God in the work that you do!

Reference: Numbers, Chapter 2 (New Living Testament)