An 18-Hole Character Test

Shortly after 9 on a hot, humidmorning, Stan O'Neal was pounding balls on the driving range of the Golf Club of Purchase (N.Y.) The chairman and chief executive of Merrill Lynch (MER ) hit a drive and watched the ball bounce beyond the 250-yard marker. He studied the shot and then patiently teed up another. After a dozen more balls, he turned to me--his guest for the day--and announced he was going to take some practice putts before we headed out.

Over the next four hours we talked about our families, the economy, and politics. We engaged in friendly competition that left me with a much lighter wallet. Most of all, we had fun. O'Neal, 53, is often described as a robot in an expensive suit, an unemotional man who fired thousands of employees shortly after September 11 and dispatched his rivals at Merrill in quick succession. Yet by the time the final putt dropped, I realized I had seen a side of O'Neal that entirely contradicted his reputation. He was engaging, inspirational, and genuinely interested in the people around him. Unlike many CEOs I've met, he treated his caddie with the utmost respect and spoke affectionately about employees.