Code Of The West

Cowboy Up!

A proposal to turn The Cowboy Code into an ethics law is galloping through the Wyoming legislature. It’s based not only on ‘Wild West’ ethics, but also on a book by a Wall Street investor. So lets turn to a business professor from the state with the cowboy license plates for his perspective. Brent Hathaway is Dean of the College of Business at the University of Wyoming in Laramie; he helped produce a short film about The Cowboy Code:

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, say more
   
9. Remember that some things are not for sale
   
10. Know where to draw the line

Audio: BBC, PRI & WBUR's Here & Now 2/23/10, Host: Robin Young. Wyoming Cowboy painting by Ali Spagnola.