In the depths of Microsoft's bruising antitrust battle, Chief Executive Steve Ballmer found inspiration. The company had been caught in a midlife crisis of sorts when Ballmer took the helm from Bill Gates in January 2000. A judge had ordered the company broken apart, revelations of brutish business practices had tattered its reputation, and its once golden stock was heading down. The pall on Microsoft's Redmond campus distracted employees and applied so much pressure that Gates broke down at a meeting.
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