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 5: Deserving Pay

Jesus tells His disciples how to conduct themselves in Luke chapter 10, verses 5-7 as He prepares them for what they will be doing after He is gone. He makes a simple statement to them; “Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay”. We live in an age where there is more transparency around pay than ever before. Once thought of as a taboo subject, today we hear people talk openly with their peers and others about how much money they make, or don’t make. I remember when I first came out of school with my graduate degree. I went to work at Pratt & Whitney as a Personnel Trainee. I don’t remember how much it was that I made as a differential because I had an advanced degree, versus those with only a bachelors, but it was enough of a difference that I kept it to myself and I felt obligated and burdened to work harder so that I would truly be deserving of my pay level. A lot of people I have run into in the corporate world feel they are not only deserving of their pay but deserving of much more. And even worse they have not always been willing to work harder or better to receive more. We are not to be ashamed of what we deserve, but we are to work for it. And by work, it means to fulfill the responsibilities assigned to us in a way that reflects that we are giving it our all, going the extra mile, and recognizing that the pay we receive is not a right but instead something that can only be earned. When we have performed our work at this level, then we can be proud of the pay deserved. The question to ask yourself today, or any day when you stand in the shower wondering how you can make more money for what you do, is are you committed to performing at the level commensurate with the pay you desire? For it is clear we do not deserve the pay for which we desire. We deserve the pay for the level of work we perform.

Reference: Luke 10: 5-7 (New Living Testament)