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 83: Super Loyalty

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The Monday after Super Bowl has every meeting and phone call beginning discussing the big game from the night before. Some fans are ecstatic and others are dejected. And some have their pre-game loyalties challenged enough that they waffle and become neutral after the loss. It’s the old cynical adage, “I’m with you win or tie”. However, to be there win, tie and lose is to show true loyalty. At work the word “loyal” can come up frequently as decisions are made about who will be promoted, receive a raise or receive more responsibility. Anyone who manages or leads people know that the desire and need for loyalty from their employees is to them very important. No one wants to have someone working for ,or work next to someone, who is constantly looking for the next job or the next company. We have all worked with these people and know that it gets old pretty quickly to hear about “that recruiter call I just got”, or that “interview”, or “that better job that must be out there for me”. These are not the people who you want to recruit on your team or can count on when the going gets tough. We want to work with loyal teammates and your co-workers want the same from us. There are many examples in the Bible of those who are loyal to Christ and also examples of those who weren’t and we learn of the pain they go through as they find their way back. We are to be loyal people in our lives. We make many commitments within our lives and we are to live up to those commitments. In Proverbs 3:3 we are told, “Never let loyalty and kindness get away from you! Wear them like a necklace; write them deep within your heart”. Some can have their spurts of loyalty but our loyalty is to run deep within us and be super in its impact and example. Of course there is time for change and no one is to be blindly loyal to their company, but there is a loyalty that is supposed to be there to others and we need to know how that loyalty looks and feels for each of us. We are to live up to our commitments. Today, think about the commitments you have made to your co-workers, your boss, your company. Whatever those commitments, know that today is a day to be a great example of how to be loyal. Others are watching.

Reference: Proverbs 3:3 (New Living Testament)