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 211: Right Moves?

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I get a chance to meet lots of people and hear their work and career stories. One aspect of the stories that I always find interesting and intriguing are the tales and decisions on why someone would relocate for one job over another. There is a new best-seller out right now written just on this subject, titled “Reloville”. I myself have moved nine times for work relocations. I have a friend who has moved 21 times in his career (nearly half of those with a wife and kids). Each time we move, we start all over with a new set of friends, new community and services, new church, new house, new schools, just about everything new. And each time, there is some moment along the way when there is a time of doubt about whether or not it was the right move. Like any big decision, there comes that time when you wonder, “did I make the right move?” Big changes like relocations require much thought, consideration, discussion and prayer. There are so many moving pieces that it takes the time of weeks and months to settle and to know for sure that the right decision was reached. In the case of my last move it was not until around the two year mark that my wife and I became settled and happy with the move. Even though the job was good, the social life and development of friends and activities were slow to develop. All decisions are made with the best available information and knowledge and when all of that had been gained, we take a leap. If we are believers and we have asked God to help direct and bless our decision, then the leap is a leap of faith and we trust that God will make it all work out for us. I reflect on the faith of the Biblical forefathers and thank God that we are not required to be literally like some of them in their moments of decision. We take before God our decisions like relocation. Abraham had to take before God the decision to follow what he heard from God and sacrifice his son Isaac. It is in James that we are reminded that Abraham was seen as right with God because of his unwavering faith. James 2:21-22 say: “Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was declared right with God because of what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, he was trusting God so much that he was willing to do whatever God told him to do. His faith was made complete by what he did – by his actions.” God has all the right moves for us. Sometimes it will be big moves, like a work relocation. Other times it will be smaller decisions and actions that we are to take. Regardless, He gives us the right moves if we turn them over to Him. Today, you may be facing both big and small moves. You want them to be the right ones and the only guarantee that you can have is if you have invited God to be a part of the decision-making and ultimately to be the decision-giver. Let your faith be tested today and let God be the one who moves you in the right direction.

Reference: James 2:21-22 (New Living Testament)