Trying Don't Get It Done

I just got done watching one of my all-time favourite training movies: The Cowboys. As you can probably tell from the name, it's a western. In my opinion, it is one of the gems in John Wayne's career -- it's right up there with She Wore a Yellow River, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Hondo, and The Searchers. Unlike those fine films, however, the cast of The Cowboys largely consists of boys.

There are a number of reasons why I love this movie, but one scene in particular stands out. In fact, it is so memorable that I have incorporated it into my philosophy of life. The scene takes place as the boys attempt to herd cattle across a river. One of the lads falls into the river and struggles not to drown. His companion on the shore attempts to raise the alarm, but fails to do so because he stutters.

After the first boy is rescued, John Wayne turns to the stutterer and provides him with some instant feedback. "You know you almost got him killed?" he demands. The youngster replies, "I t-t-tried ..." only to be cut off with one of the most important lines ever uttered in a western movie:

"Trying don't get it done!"

I used to show this scene in a leadership program I facilitated. The discussions which followed inevitably turned into debates between those who thought John Wayne was too harsh on Stuttering Bob and those who thought he made a valid point. You can count me amongst the latter.

I will be the first to agree that trying matters, but it isn't enough. It's not enough to merely try in business and it's not enough to merely try in life. The lesson that I have taken from The Cowboys is pretty simple:

"Effort matters -- but so do results."