Today I went to visit an old friend of mine who used to be a bull rider on the rodeo circuit. Every time I go to see him I walk away with another bit of WESTERN WISDOM. I want to share what I learned from him today. I believe if you went to Harvard Business School you wouldn’t get better advice than what I am going to pass along.
THE CODE OF THE WEST
10 PRINCIPLES TO LIVE BY
1) Live each day with courage
2) Take pride in your work
3) Always finish what you start
4) Do what has to be done
5) Be tough, but fair
6) When you make a promise, keep it
7) Ride for the brand
8) Talk less and say more
9) Remember that some things aren’t for sale
10) Know where to draw the line
As you read these 10 principles, don’t just read the words, search for the meaning. From talking with my friend I have become aware that sometimes you can learn more from reading “between the lines” than you can reading the written words.
Here are my thoughts and ideas about these 10 principles:
1) Live each day with courage – to me this doesn’t mean be brave, it means that you need to courage to face the everyday problems that life throws at you.
2) Take pride in your work – don’t just do a job, do the BEST job you can. Don’t do it for the boss or the company, do the best job for your own pride and self worth.
3) Always finish what you start – it’s not someone else’s job to clean up after you. If the job was worth starting it is worth finishing to your best ability.
4) Do what has to be done – to me this has 2 meanings, the first is go the extra mile if need be to get the job done. The second is put forth the effort, no matter what it takes, to get things done. ALWAYS WITH HONOR AND PRIDE!
5) Be tough, but fair – don’t take the easy route, sometimes the decisions you need to make are the hard, MAKE THEM but be fair and just in how you decide.
6) When you make a promise, keep it – a cowboy may have said it this time, but as a sales trainer I have said it a thousand times.
7) Ride for the brand – just like the product or service brand you represent the cowboys had a ranch and each ranch had its own distinctive BRAND that they placed on what they owned. A cowboy always defended and represented their BRAND with PRIDE, HONOR, and DIGNITY and would defend it to the end.
8) Talk less and say more – This is another one that is a cowboy saying here but is a sales rep saying as well. Think it in 10 words, but say it in 5. (It wasn’t until today that I realized something, when sitting in a meeting with my friend I would sometimes hear him mumble “Number 8” I now know what he was saying)
9) Remember that some things aren’t for sale – I interpret this as to mean that your integrity, honesty, and reputation should always be beyond compromise.
10) Know where to draw the line – The line being the values you will not set aside or are willing to ignore. Draw the line and never cross it. Allow yourself to be pushed if need be, but only to the line.
These by no means are the only way to interpret these principles, they are just my way. I will end today’s blog repeating myself.
DON’T JUST READ THSES WORDS, SEARCH FOR THE MEANING!
Lorin
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