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You call a meeting--everyone groans and trudges to the conference room, already absorbed in their smart phones. Wouldn't a creative and engaging meeting be a nice change? Will that happen?

Probably not--poor communication runs rampant in meetings. But a talented communicator can fix all of the pitfalls of the typical meeting.

A Harvard Business Review study "found patterns of communication to be the most important predictor of a team's success." And what better way to communicate than using the tools of the best communicators around: TED speakers?

Bring the energy and effectiveness of TED into your company's discussions. Leave the useless and dreaded meeting structure behind. Captivate your employees and have them invested in what you're discussing.

Can you imagine working for someone in a high-level leadership role, perhaps a CEO, and suddenly it dawns on you: This person isn't leadership caliber.

Your next thought may be, How in the world did he (or she) make it this far up the ladder?

It's a fair question. People are promoted into leadership roles every day who have no business belonging there.

Sometimes it's political; other times it's the easier choice--promote from within and avoid the high cost of recruitment--but a bad choice, nonetheless.

The biggest challenge leaders face is performing to the set standards of the best in the business. This means raising the bar really high--as the ten hugely successful CEOs I wrote about recently have done.

In the end, you'll find the leadership journey is predicated on two things that drive success: Results and relationships. You can't have results at the expense of people. And serving your tribe well without getting results is merely putting lipstick on a pig.

How a person defines success is a subjective thing, but likely involves some combination of financial independence, loving relationships, a solid education, and a rewarding career. Over the years, I have been fortunate to interview hundreds of founders and executives who fit this bill. Collectively, they tend to exhibit a handful of habits that set them apart from average achievers.

A CEO client is over-extended, has too many priorities to juggle, and is simultaneously hyper-stressed and hyper-exhausted. Actually this describes many of my clients. Does this sound like you too?

Friends, this is no way to go through life. As someone who has dodged two cancer bullets while building two businesses and raising two sons, I have a very healthy respect for mortality, along with the insight that tomorrow is not promised to anyone.

During our call this week, my client shared her anxiety about getting everything accomplished, and that she has made no time to exercise or decompress in several days. She is on a non-stop treadmill.

Great business leaders should always seek out ways to work smarter, not harder. Efficiency is incredibly important, especially when time is money. Hard work is draining and long hours keep you away from your family and social life. It's important to keep a healthy balance between your work and personal life, so it only makes sense that you would want to find better ways to get things done. Here are five tips on how to work smarter, not harder:

Perhaps you spend the last 10 minutes of your workday staring at the clock, counting down the seconds until you’re free. Or, maybe you bury yourself in your work until the very last minute — then you grab your stuff and go without saying goodbye to your colleagues.

If either of the above scenarios sounds familiar, it may be time to reassess your end-of-day routine. “How you finish the workday is very important,” says Michael Kerr, an international business speaker and author of “The Humour Advantage.” “It can set your mood for the rest of your day; it may impact your personal relationships, overall level of happiness, and how well you sleep that night; and it will set the stage for the next day.”

1. They focus on minutes, not hours.

Average performers default to hours and half-hour blocks on their calendar. Highly successful people know there are 1,440 minutes in every day and there is nothing more valuable than time. Money can be lost and made again, but time spent can never be reclaimed.

As legendary Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller told him, "To this day, I keep a schedule that is almost minute by minute."

You must master your minutes to master your life.

2. They focus only on one thing.

Ultra productive people know their Most Important Task (MIT) and work on it for one to two hours each morning, without interruptions.

Tom Ziglar, CEO of Ziglar Inc., said, "Invest the first part of your day working on your number one priority that will help build your business."

What task will have the biggest impact on reaching your goal? What accomplishment will get you promoted at work?