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 260: Caddying

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Coming back off of a three-day weekend (although I know that Columbus Day is not a big deal all over the country…but back on the east coast they have parades and everything, so when in Rome…) feels like you are carrying three days of work back into the office. No matter how hard you try to ensure that you have “kept up” there are those who use the long weekend day to clean out their inbox and well, there comes the work. Carrying the load and the bags of work is all part of the job. For some people that is what they do, they “carry” the bags of others. And, they usually get looked down on because that is their job. I have been in many a job where it was my responsibility to carry the bags of my bosses and I always felt that it was an important part of business and an honor. It’s kind of like the caddy for a pro golfer. Without them, a pro golfer wouldn’t get too far. They are there for knowledge, instinct, advice, counsel, nerve-calming, encouragement, and strength. I know a very high profile executive in a very high profile job right now who could use someone like this. He needs someone with him to fill in the gaps in his skill set and his intuition. Without someone to help him he has a hard time navigating certain areas. With someone by his side, he is the full picture. The problem is that he thinks he is the full equation regardless and doesn’t recognize his deficiencies. Many a person is like him and miss so many opportunities because they don’t let others carry the bags and some of the load. As believers, we are so fortunate in that we recognize that God wants to be there for us to carry the load and do all the things that a great caddy would do. And if we really understand how it all comes together, we know that even when we make the shot, we are to give Him the credit and He gets the glory, not us. We are so many times like that executive. We want to carry all the load and we want to do it all ourselves. But God wants to carry the bag and the load for us and He wants to be the one that can call the club and the shot, all the while coaching and having great things done in His name. Today, think about what it is that you are carrying versus what you should be handing over to God. You will find that he wants us to give it over, like he tells us in Psalms 81:5-7; “Now I will take the load from your shoulders;I will free your hands from their heavy tasks.” Today, you need to shed some of the baggage and let God start carrying the load for you. If you try to hold on you will only falter under the weight that you have and the weight and tasks that is yet to come. Let God give you a hand today at work!

Psalm 81:5-7 (New Living Testament)