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 372: Leader Language

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This is not a new topic that we have explored in Purposed worKING, but I felt it was time to reiterate the topic. This past week we saw one of our national leaders use an expletive as he was talking to our President. The TV microphones picked up his words and national headlines were made and continue now even a week later. When leaders speak, people listen. When leaders speak the wrong words people make even more of it. When leaders speak inappropriately they send a message to others that this is language that is acceptable and appropriate in certain circles. In this case, we all knew that his choice of his word was an expletive that would never be acceptable on television and shouldn’t be acceptable in other places either. All of this is also true in the business world. Leaders who choose to use inappropriate or foul language are setting an example for others and through their choice of words are stating where their mind and hearts reside. It’s a simple lesson that we are not to use foul or abusive language if we are going to set the right example and be the role models that we and God want us to be. Unfortunately, we can never be reminded enough. Paul is clear in his teaching in Ephesians: “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” ‘Nuff said.

Reference: Ephesians 4:29 (New Living Testament)