William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody

Samuel Cody Martinez

Buffalo Bill’s Life on the Frontier

Longest continuous pony express ride Killed 12 buffalo with 11 bullets. He hunted buffalo to feed the Kansas-Pacific railway

workers

Rescued a group of soldiers in a blinding blizzard by orienting based on how the wind

was hitting his ear.

Hero in battle field even as a civilian scout with no obligation to fight

Led soldiers to within 50 yards of an opposing army’s encampment

Received a medal of honor.

“Buffalo Bill’s Wild West”

• After life on the frontier, founded the Wild West show.• Show ran for about 30 years.• Show traveled throughout the US and Europe, performed in over 1000

locations.• 600 cast members, 400 horses, herd of 20 buffalo.• In addition to entertainment, education of attendees a priority

Integration: Work and Community

• The cast of the Wild West show became Bill’s community• Treated cast members like family, treated all cast members fairly• Bill became a strong advocate for native Americans, often commenting in

the public sphere on their behalf• Bill was also devoted to developing infrastructure in the west, founded Cody

Wyoming, and spent much of his personal wealth on development projects

Integration: Family

• Bill had a rocky family life. Wife loved stability and simplicity in her life. Bill had a passion for adventure. Differences created significant strain in their marriage.

• Bill tried to adjust his life around his family (tried stage acting, and hotel management), but always found himself unhappy and craving the excitement of the road

• The difference between this picture of Bill with his family and the previous picture of Bill with some of his professional and community stakeholders highlights a contrast in the level of integration in Bill’s life domains.

Total Leadership Lessons

• Bill demonstrated significant flexibility in leveraging talents and passions– He was happy with very diverse career paths at different

stages of his life as long as the path fed his passion for excitement, risk, and adventure

– Bill’s professional life became his community life.• Bill life is an example of how constraints among

various life domains can come into conflict.– Bill’s marriage and family life created friction primarily

because his wife didn’t share his passion for excitement, risk, and adventure.