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 231: Planting Seeds

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It’s a common phrase that we hear frequently at work; “I just want to plant a seed with you”. When you dissect this and think about it this can be an interesting statement that someone makes. They can actually mean one of a few different things. They might be meaning that they are want to give you a positive idea and they want you to hear it first. They might have an idea that is brewing in their head and they want to use you as a sounding board. Or, they might be thinking something totally different and wanting to start a rumor or put a thought of doubt about someone or something else in your head so that the seed can germinate with you and and you take on the doubtful or suspicious thought. I also find it interesting that we say we want to plant a seed, one seed, when in reality anyone knows that one seed doesn’t usually take care of the job. Regardless, people are planting seeds all the time at work and it is important that we recognize the difference in positive and negative ideas and thoughts and how these are managed. It seems to be a tendency at work to plant negative seeds about each other so that we get ahead by tearing down someone else, or look better with the boss, or get the upper-hand or edge on the others around us. And, it is so easy to fall into proliferating these thoughts and words when we allow for others to drop and plant their seeds with us. That is not the ground that God wants us to till and fertilize. God wants us to plant a different type of seed on our jobs. He wants us to be seen as caring, loving, forgiving, approachable, merciful and gracious, all while standing for values and principles that are His. When we do that He asks us to not plant one seed, but many. Paul says this to us in 2 Corinthians: “Remember this- a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.” So today, as you head back to the fields of your work, sow and plant the right seeds with assurance, confidence and faith that the holy seeds that you plant generously will take hold and be of great and positive consequence to many.

Reference: 2 Corinthians 9:6 (New Living Testament)