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Leblanc is CEO, Leadagers™ - Accelerated Leadership & OMC Performance and author of High Impact Hospitality http://www.linkedin.com/in/chaseleblancleadagers

Code of the West

I have lived up, down, in the middle and on both sides of the USA, but I was raised in the West. I’m not a farmer or rancher, but as I was growing up I had a chance to spend some time “learning the ropes” from my relatives who were. You had to be hardy, smart and tough to make it in either place. Savvy-skill-craft was prized and so was an even disposition. You had to hold up your end of the bargain or you were sent packin’.

There was also a code, an unwritten agreement that bracketed your conduct. Lying, cheating or stealing were absolute no-fly zones, and you had to offer the other guy a “fair chance” in just about everything you did. I know some people will pass off my code recollections as myth, but I was not hanging out in Hollywood with A. Ladd, G. Cooper or J. Wayne - just with real people living real lives. In fact, responsible conduct was a major contributing factor to their sense of community and stewardship of the land. And, there was a word woven into their daily lives that is so old fashioned -- I feel compelled to dust it off just to use it in this sentence -- RECIPROCITY -- the “soul-coal” that stoked many barn raisings, harvests and roundups.

In light of the recent news of a MAJOR FAILURE of institutional leadership in the sporting world that dominated last week’s headlines and Sunday’s news programs, I thought it might be timely to share a few relevant “rules of the trail” that I know have been valuable to myself and others who aspired to become respectable, responsible citizens and leaders in their own right.

Be kind to kids and your horse
Don’t take any wooden nickels
Own a sharp knife and a sharper set of eyes
If you have some… share some to them that ain’t got none
If your best dog bites you more’n once… they ain’t your best dog
Doing the right thing ain’t courage… it’s just doing the right thing
Don’t make friends with rattlers… them that ain’t got feet or them that do
A “howdy” and a smile cost you nuthin’… don’t make nobody pay to git one
If you Rodeo… 8 seconds can change your life and if you don’t… they still can
An honest day’s work for an honest day’s dollar means a lot,but your honest word means more