The next time you need a creative approach or solution, nix the disciplined mental focus and instead let your mind wander. In his new book, Imagine: How Creativity Works, Jonah Lehrer says that laser-like focus actually inhibits creative thinking.

“The issues most people struggle with have little to do with our ability to do the work,” says Quint Studer, author of The Great Employee Handbook: Making Work and Life Better. “It’s all the things that happen around the work. ... It’s whether we make life easier for our co-workers or more difficult.” He offers these four workplace secrets:

Administrative professionals and executive assistants often see themselves in their support roles as being “nonleaders.” Nothing, however, could be further from the truth, according to a new book, Who Took My Pen . . . Again?