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 392: What’s Mine Is Yours

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Sharing is not an easy thing to do in our jobs. As I have written before we are more often than not going to be rewarded for our individual efforts and work can become a place of competition versus collaboration and teamwork. We strive for both but seldom can we really say at work that what is mine is yours. Too much is made of the back and forth of who really deserves the credit or who really got the work done. There is always someone who wants the credit and someone else gets their toes stepped on and feeling hurt. It is not an inviting environment and the sandbox gets crowded way too fast. The question a lot of CEOs and Heads of HR have is how do they repair this in the companies. I believe it starts with an attitude from each of us that is an honest belief that what we share will come back to us and that the right thing to do is model the actions that what is mine can and should also be someone elses. I heard a song this last weekend that captures how we as believers are to start with turning all that is ours over to God. If we can do that then we stand the better chance to wanting to share all that we have with others. The lyrics of the song and a link are below. Today, consider if we are really of the right mind and are we truly able to say that what is mine is yours. If we can’t then it may be because we first haven’t figured out how to give up which is ours to God.

“It’s Yours” by Jadon Lavik

Take my pride all that’s inside
And trade it for a heart
A humble heart that gives glory to your name
Be the guide your will not mine as I step aside
Shine your light through this broken surrendered life

So it’s yours, it’s yours
My life is yours, it’s yours
So come on and have your way in me

Save to lose in this economy upside down
Lose to find the only life worth living for
Give to gain I want to lead a life that’s full of love
Help me see outside of me the strength in giving away

So it’s yours, it’s yours
My life is yours, it’s yours
So come on and have your way in me
Come on and have your way in me

Mold me mold me and make me
Into what you want me to be

So it’s yours, it’s yours
My life is yours, it’s yours
So come on and have your way in me
Come on and have your way in me

Link to the song. Track 13: