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 108: Peacemaking

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I am working with a company where there is a fair amount of internal politics. One group feels very much like the other group is about to put a “squeeze play” on them and force them into a corner where the decisions made will be suboptimal and wrong for the business, etc. The other group looks across the table and can’t understand why “the other guys don’t get it and see it the say we do?”. And as such, they are pushing their agenda as hard and as fast as they can and not worrying about what others think. This happens all the time in business and across companies today the same dynamic are playing out and people are waking up and heading to work with a knot in their stomach knowing that they are going to have to deal with this stuff once again this week. The choices we think we have in these situations, for most people, come down to the “fight or flight instincts”. We feel like we either have to give up and run from the situation or we must get in there and slug it out for the survival of the fittest. I personally hate these situations and while I understand how we get there, it doesn’t make it anymore palatable to me. So, what is our role as believers and desire-to-be role models and examples? In Matthew 5:9, Jesus gives us a straightforward blessing and word about how we are to conduct ourselves. He says, “God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God”. I have read that verse so many times and I always equated it to those who strive for world peace and some peace that is beyond all understanding. While that may be true, Jesus is saying to each of us, “those who work for peace”, He will bless. We all work. So, we can all work for peace. Today, when you are in the middle of one of these fights and struggles and you can feel the tension in the air and the emotions rising in those around you (or even within yourself), take a deep breath and call on Him to give you the right peacemaking words and peaceful spirit to fill the room and take over the conversation. Blessed you will be if you work for peace and yes, others will see what you are doing and appreciate it immensely. While I doubt someone is going to stand up in the meeting and make the declaration, as Jesus says, the truth will one day be known, that you are a child of God. And in that moment you will have fulfilled the purpose of your work.

Reference: Matthew 5:9 (New Living Testament)