I just listened to that episode yesterday and that’s not how I perceived it all. Ballmer barely described it as much as I remember.

What’s there to perceive? Ballmer talked at length about how challenging it was and how often they disagreed on things.

“That's where I moved back to be president of the company and then CEO, and Bill and I went through a year where we didn't speak”

“Basically our wives were the ones who pushed us back together. We had a very awkward dinner at a health club down the street here, but we get back together. But we never really got the right mojo.”