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 2712: Plus That

purposed worKING No Comments

“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”

I get so spend a lot of time in those who have experiences in theater at some point in their lives, now or in the past.  I was spending time with an executive who was telling me that early in his career his extra time away from work was spent in an improvisation group.  He said he wasn’t all that good at it, but he learned the principle there of “plus that”.  To “plus that” was to always be building on the others who were improvising with him.  If he didn’t, then the improve would stall, the actors around him would falter and the skit would come to a close.  So, he was always watching, listening, being intent to what others were doing so he could be ready to build on what they were doing, to be “plus that” for them.  He told me that the lesson he learned in that theater program was the best business lesson he ever learned.

Why does God call us to be encouragers of others?  It’s because He is the God of “plus that”.  He expands the possibilities for each of us.  And, He calls on us to “plus that” for others by being the encouragers.  And to encourage others in a way that they are inspired and better, we must listen, care, and be authentic so that we are there for them at the right time and in our most genuine way. So, ask Him today, what we can do to “plus that”?

Reference: 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (New Living Translation)