Made a big change after becoming burned out.

After ten years of eighty-hour weeks at Apple Computer and Claris Software, Donna Dubinsky was burned out and decided to take a yearlong sabbatical to live in Paris. There she found an apartment, learned to paint, studied French, and thought about what she would do next. "I reflected on what I am good at, what I'm not good at, and what value I could bring. I realized I am not an innovative thinker and will never have the product savvy of Steve Jobs. I had been in the technology industry for ten years and had never thought of one big new idea."

"When I returned to Silicon Valley, I had a clear focus. I knew I needed to find a great product person to team with me. It wasn't so much about the product as it was finding a partner who is skilled where I am not."

Donna eventually found Jeff Hawkins, the talented product developer who created the Palm Pilot, and she became Palm's CEO in 1992. The two have such complementary skills that they are considered inseparable business partners around Silicon Valley and are currently working on their third venture, Numenta.