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 2641: Too Popular

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“…that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth…”

There is such a thing as “too popular”. If you were the inventors of these trademarked brand names, you would know what I mean: zipper, trampoline, aspirin, cellophane, dumpster, laundromat, escalator or linoleum. Yes, they were once trademarked brands that companies owned but they became so popular they became a generic trademarks and once it happens, it’s really hard for a company to get their trademark back. Many companies are trying to fight back and hang on to the price they pay for being too popular. Think Kleenex, Band-Aids, Xerox, Lego, and Bubble Wrap. It reminds me that for every good result, there is also a consideration to be reckoned.

Our faith can fall into the trap of becoming “generic”.  We can live the life we are to live, believing and following Jesus and His teachings but yet the fire within us feels as though it burns lowly.  We share our beliefs with other others but we may come across as generic and without the excitement and passion that we once had.  Like those companies who have worked hard to keep their brands distinct and sharp so they don’t just slip into the everyday and nondescript stuff that is out there, we have to do the same with our faith by staying in God’s Word, sharpening ourselves within the fellowship of others and listening in our prayers to what God has to say to us.  Jesus is far from generic, we know that.  But, it is up to us to not let Him become so in our own lives and in the perception of others.

Reference:  Philippians 2:10 (New Living Translation)