54 REFLECTIONS ON CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP
Mary was one of our most prized people, responsible for more creative
concepts than any other person in the fi rm ’ s history. Her creativity and
her capacity for work were legendary. When she was given a project that
caught her fancy, she could really make it fl y. In searching for solutions,
she was indefatigable; she worked long into the night. Mary ’ s excitement
during such an effort knew no bounds. And she had a knack for getting
others involved. Working the way she did, and inspiring others to help,
she produced incredible results.
But Mary was also problematic. Her mercurial temperament got her
into trouble more often than most of us cared to remember. And there
were many occasions when the fl urry of her ideas generated confusion
rather than clarity — when her reality - testing seemed to be impaired. At
times like that, Mary was out of control. It was as if she abandoned all
caution, all social constraint. She ’ d make irrelevant intrusions in social
conversation and tell jokes that were completely out of place. When she
was in one of these odd states, there was a certain disconnectedness about
her. For example, the original focus of a conversation would sometimes
be lost along the way. She would jump from one subject to the other. And
her confusion was just as contagious as her enthusiasm. If I tried to get
her to back off when she was like this, to retreat long enough to pull it
together again, she was extremely unpleasant, not only to me but also to
her co - workers.
There were many anecdotes about her in circulation. I remember
hearing about the number of times that she left the offi ce early and went
on a buying spree, stretching her limited fi nancial resources. Once, acting
on impulse after spotting a gem in a used car lot, she returned to the offi ce
driving an old Austin Healey. Another time she enthusiastically made it
known to all and sundry that she had just acquired a speedboat. She men-
tioned that she ’ d always wanted to try water skiing. Predictably, given
such extravagances, her fi nances always seemed to be on the brink of dis-
aster. She was given to excess with drink as well. Lots of times she came
back from lunch quite intoxicated. And her appearance could change
dramatically from one day to the next. At times she looked downright
radiant, exuding energy; at other times she looked extremely haggard, as
if she hadn ’ t slept for weeks.
On a number of occasions we were quite worried about Mary. When
she was in one of her low moods, she was so low that we were afraid she
had suicidal tendencies. When an overexcited mood state had passed, she
reacted with such self - disgust. She was haunted by acute feelings of shame
over her bizarre and inappropriate behavior, her drinking, her violent
reactions, and her fi nancial escapades. I talked to her a few times when
she was low — that was the only time she was open to this sort of conversa-
tion — affi rming her contribution to the organization but also pointing out
inappropriate behavior.
Mary was both stimulating and diffi cult. I recognized her emotional
instability, and I worried a great deal about it, but I also valued her pro-