Steve Marsland
Regardless of your criteria, Steve was a special guy. His boundless energy could be instantly redirected from crunching out monster spreadsheets to composing and passionately playing romantic piano compositions. From arguing and debating fine points of business strategy to chattering away in Japanese with his pals while beating their pants off in a game of Go. From writing and editing erudite market research treatises to immersing himself in electronic games. The range of breadth and depths of his interests, skills, and accomplishment was truly special.
His death this week is a shock. I especially feel a great sense of his loss. We shared common roots, growing up in the same provincial region of the North East. When Binghamton, New York is your Gotham and you grew up in a village of a few thousand souls more than 30 miles from Mecca, you can understand and appreciate each other’s small town roots.
But as importantly, over the course of the last 30 years, I came to feel like Steve’s uncle as the paths of our lives crossed time and again. From being his first boss in corporate America, right out of Harvard Business School, to recruiting him into one of my crazy start up companies a decade later, and finally partnering with him for the past several years in the consulting business, our relationship morphed into a true partnership. My friendship, respect and caring for him increased. And I was a part of and watched his personal growth.
And Steve certainly had his struggles. As Steve just told me only last week, “I am really about twice as fast at doing projects as my peers”. And although I really could have challenged him to a race, I know I would lose. He was intense, period. And the same intensity he brought to his job, he brought to his life and relationships.
But it is simplistic to say he was simply another one of those dreaded type A’s. Let me assure you, I know type A’s from little towns, because I am one. As he himself labeled his other side, “I am overly sensitive” And surely, you frequently saw that romantic and sensitive side of him come out in extremely positive ways. But being sensitive also caused him a lot of pain and he was frequently conflicted by his control tendencies and sensitive feelings.
Corporate life was simply not for Steve. He was not a happy camper coping with the bureaucracy. Who is? And his relationships and marriages proved to be a roller coaster of passions.
But things continuously got better. He loved the consulting business, and we loved working together. And the results spoke for themselves. I was anxious to put my nephew in charge and pursue my true purpose in life, fly-fishing.
He rose to a new level of fatherhood and was a devoted father to Angeline. And despite the past failures of his marriages, he was determined to give it another go. His single-minded pursuit of Lana, their marriage and new life is yet another example of his quest to do it right the next time.
But his life ended all so instantly. There he was on a treadmill, pursuing his fitness goals. He had a full backlog of consulting projects. Lana was returning from her training. He was just back from Disneyland with Angeline. He was pursuing a new relationship with Robert. Nick would soon be home.
But he is gone. Steve, you were on the right track. We will miss you. We will miss all of your specialness. We will miss your mind and your soul. Godspeed in the next world.
Chuck McLaughlin
August 22, 2008