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 2: Sometimes It Just Works Out That Way….

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We all know people who we look at and say, “how did they get to where they are?” On the surface they don’t have the same or better as us in comparable education, experience, skills, maturity or tenure. But yet, they are ahead of us and it just doesn’t make sense. And you know what, the truth is that you won’t be able to make any sense of it at all. Sorry. God gives us a word for this situation and to help us make it through these moments and times. In Ecclesiastes 9:11, Solomon puts it out there for us very bluntly: “I have observed something else in this world of ours. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise are often poor, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.” I believe we are given this word for two reasons. First, we are are not to live our lives bogged down, discouraged or resentful of those who have gotten ahead of us despite themselves. The word we are given is that it just is what it is and we can’t change it, so don’t let that effect or influence our own lives and what we strive to be or become. Secondly, we all have times when it is us who is in the right place at the right time. It might be the recruiter calling, being in the office at just the time something important is needed, the chance meeting in the hallway, the elevator, or the lunchroom with the boss or the bosses boss. Or it could be seeing the business opportunity in front of you and you pouncing on it…at the right time in the market. Whatever the circumstance, if you find yourself in that perfect situation, then you need to recognize it with humility and gratefulness. You need to do this for yourself but also for the others who are on the sidelines who don’t understand “how it happened to you”. I’m often asked about my personal success and I am open to telling others that at three junctures in my career the Good Lord put me in the right place at the right time and that was really the “secret” of my success. I believe it will happen to you too. And when it comes your way count and enjoy the blessings and make the most of the moment but don’t lose sight of where the being in the right place at the right time came from in the first place.

Reference: Ecclesiastes 9:11 (New Living Translation)