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 216: Riding In The Golf Cart

I had a very interesting conversation with a business colleague the other day who when we were discussing how best to get things done at work, he said that if you really want to influence the boss and be an impact at work, it is not about getting to the Board Room, it is really about getting to ride in the golf cart with the boss. As I listened to him talk, I realized how true this statement can be. The golf cart can be taken literally or figuratively. For some bosses, literally the golf course and the golf cart is where things get done because to get to that seat we have to be trusted, influential, liked, and at the right hand of the boss. Otherwise, we never get invited. For other bosses, they have their own “thing” outside of work that they will share with certain subordinates and not others. These times can be some of the best times in our careers, but they can also be times of creating animosity with others on the team, etc. So, like many areas in work, something good can be something bad. Yet, the point is that to get some things accomplished, we have to be able to be close enough to our boss that she/he will allow us in the inside circle. And, when we are managers, we do the same thing to those who work for us. So, when we are in our jobs we have to understand that the relationships we build with others is really the best goal we can have in our jobs. To be close to our co-workers and allow them to be close to us can be very powerful. God also wants us to be close to Him and He invites us into His “golf cart” each and every day. We read in Psalm 145:18: “The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.” We can not only in our jobs model the way we are supposed to manage our relationships, but we can also, more importantly, ensure that we are allowing ourselves to accept God’s constant open invitation to join Him in His inner circle just by calling on Him. Today, think about the areas in your job that you could use that extra support and confidence. God is waiting for you to call on Him. When you do, he will be there, as close as you could ever imagine.

Reference: Psalm 145:18 (New Living Testament)