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 405: Don’t Forget From Where You Came

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I find it interesting and sometimes a bit perplexing that companies work hard at making the culture one for all and all for one, but then turn around and run the organization in just the opposite fashion. These are the companies where the senior executives make crazy multiples higher in salary than the front line employee and the front line employee’s salary and benefits, etc. are kept as low as possible against a market rate while management and senior management reward themselves more towards their perceived performance and potential in the company. Not all organizations are this way, but there is certainly a common philosophy thread within corporate America that lends itself to not being one for all and all for one, but more being one for a few and all for me. What is also fascinating is that we forget that we all came from the bottom. No one graduates from school or goes into their first job and starts at the top. Granted, not everyone starts in the mail room but we all started at the bottom rung of our profession and found our way further up the ladder over time. Whether or not we get to the top is not the point, what is important is that we ensure that lower rungs of the ladder are sturdy, reliable, secure and safe, if we want others to be able to climb the ladder in the future. In 1 John we are challenged to monitor and be cognizant of how we think about our success and others who are not there yet. It is an applicable word for those of us trying to work our purpose of bringing glory to God through our jobs; “But if anyone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help – how can God’s love be in that person?” Today, we may be sitting in our chairs of success and not realizing that so many in our organization are struggling and what they need most is a mentor, a word of encouragement, an advocate or even just someone to listen. If you want to find them, you don’t have to look far. Just look down the ladder a few rungs and they are there with one foot on the their current rung and the other foot one rung higher with both hands clasped on an even higher rungs, looking no where but up, ready to move if someone will help or invite them. God’s love is helping. God’s love can be seen through you today if just don’t forget from where you came.

Reference: 1 John 3:17 (New Living Testament)