Deutsch | Aaron Cohen | Internet Time | Internet consulting

Boy, do they. Deutsch, 42, learned that through experience. During those dozen supercharged years, Deutsch succeeded at the office, but the rest of his life fell apart. "I built up a huge business, but my marriage didn't make it; there are certain trade-offs," he says. "In fact, until a few years ago, every woman in my life, including my wife, said the same thing: 'If you could just show me the commitment you show your work, it'd be great.' And it was true, my work always did take precedence."

About six years ago, Deutsch had an accidental revelation when he, for some in-explicable reason, persuaded himself not only to take a vacation, but to leave work worries behind, too. "When I came back, the business was still thriving, and I was sharper than I had been for months," he remembers.

That was the beginning of the end for Deutsch's obsessive ways. And listen up, you vacation skeptics: Since Deutsch's reform, his agency hasn't slowed down. On the contrary. "My business has grown even more, going from about $300 million to a billion-five," Deutsch adds. "I'm not saying there's an exact correlation, but clearly, just working all the time is not the answer to growth."

VACATION? YADA, YADA, YADA
Even so, Deutsch is a rarity among power players. More typical is the public relations exec who outlined very frankly (if anonymously) her reasons for never vacationing. "One, I'm afraid everything would fall apart if I took off. Two, I'm afraid everything wouldn't fall apart if I took off, and people would find out what a phony I am."

Or take Aaron Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Concrete Incorporated, an Internet consulting firm that has gone from 13 employees to 150 in two years and whose clients include heavy hitters like Bertelsmann, Bechtel, and the Princeton Review. Cohen is running on Internet time to such a degree that, when he and his wife recently attended Lamaze classes, Cohen walked out because things were moving too slowly. Time for some time off? Right.