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Some people have it, most people don’t. People call it foresight, vision, even magic. At the end of the day, we would all be better off if we just knew how to predict the future.

Recently a fellow band member gave me a reed for my saxophone. She said “they’re so amazing it will make you sound phenomenal!”

Have you ever really thought about what it means for you to be at your best? More importantly, have you thought about what it takes to make that happen? Identify the habits, behaviors, systems, and tools that maximize your ability to do the most important things - at work and in life. Have you ever had the feeling early one morning, "This might be a not-so-good day?" It's easy to think of things that could start you off on the road to a bad day.

As leaders, we are trying to help our teams achieve new goals and reach new targets. We are constantly attempting to produce more at higher quality and greater profits. All of this implies that we must do things in new ways, because, as Einstein famously stated, doing the same things and expecting new results is insanity.

So as leaders, whether we have thought about it this way or not, we must be creative and we must encourage our team to think creatively if we want to reach our goals.

If you’re rolling your eyes at yet another claim to a "secret code” or the “magic pill” to gain business success this post is for you. It turns out there really is a key to superior business performance and the intelligent minds at Harvard Business School have found it.

Over the years, management ideas, tools and techniques have come and gone. Different approaches and theories have been implemented sometimes to the success of the user, other times…not so much. Harvard Business School wanted to know which management practices really work? They carefully examined more than 200 well-established management practices as they were employed over a 10-year period by 160 companies.

I always love discovering and sharing new productivity tips and tricks. In this video by Entrepreneur.com, productivity expert Jason Womack shares some great advice about the lost art of the phone call.

In this technology laden world we tend to forget how to best leverage the tools we have to be most effective. We often turn to email. In this video Jason lays out some simple thoughts about how to be more productive by using the phone instead. Enjoy!

One of the fundamental principles of productivity is that in order to get things done, you have to focus. And that necessary focus requires that you eliminate as many distractions as possible. This isn't always an easy task with the Internet, coworkers and busy phones calling to you from every direction.

I’ve worked for bosses who hold polar opposite views on the issue of whether or not a manager should apologize. One believes that a manager should never apologize to their employees. The other makes it a practice to always apologize for mistakes.

Over the years, I’ve begun to solidify my views on the subject. Before I share my opinion…

What do you think… should leaders/managers apologize?

Leaders are pulled in multiple directions everyday. It's easy to lose focus on the things that represent the heart of your business... the critical drivers of your success... the core values that lead to greatness. How do you filter out the noise and maintaining focus for yourself and for your organization? It begins with finding time to think strategically...