Rhinestone Cowboys, Gunslingers, and George Baileys
Now we all know the term rhinestone cowboy from Glen Campbell’s 1975 hit single of that same name, written by Larry Weiss. Weiss used the term endearingly to represent a country singer who had struggled and survived and finally found success. And we all admire that level of persistence and perseverance and hard work.
But whatever else rhinestone cowboy may mean, clearly it is a glitzy and inauthentic pretender. Ask any wrangler with dusty boots and grimy fingernails.
As for gunslinger, how have we traditionally used that term in business? An aggressive and competent hotshot.
Now we just need a similarly picturesque term for a quietly competent wrangler, not afraid of hard work or getting his hands dirty; never the hotshot, but consistently reliable, levelheaded, and scrupulously honest. Perhaps sometimes undervalued or underestimated? The Jimmy Stewart type. Hmm, if you will forgive the triple-mixed metaphor, I guess we could label these guys: George Bailey. Yes, the George Baileys.
So we have the rhinestone cowboys, the gunslingers, and the George Baileys. That’s Americana. I do not want to overuse these terms; they are only get us so far. But used sparingly, I do think they help paint a picture of what we often see in this business.