I will go to the ends of the earth to find ways to improve communication and salesmanship, so I was delighted to be invited to Israel in July to be briefed by the creme-de-la-creme of Israel's intelligence community. Wall-to-wall meetings introduced me to 25 top strategists, military commanders and technology entrepreneurs. Why is the Israeli intelligence gathering so widely envied and emulated? Its discipline, attention to detail and passion are breathtaking. These same traits that distinguish Israel's national intelligence program are easy to spot in the country's economy, which is increasingly dominated by entrepreneurial, high-tech innovators in breakthrough industries like 3D printing.

Israel's leading "serial entrepreneur," Yossi Vardi, has built more than 60 companies and sold a couple of them to the likes of Microsoft and AOL. He believes an appreciation for risk and opportunity fuels the drive to innovate. Israelis have learned to focus on innovation with a practical payback. Yossi told me: "In the U.S., risk means the chance you'll lose your money. In Israel, risk means missiles will be buzzing around your head if you make a mistake."

According to The Economist, Israeli military spending is the fifth highest per capita worldwide. However, as a percent of GDP, it's dived from 17.7 percent in 1991 to 6 percent today. The priority battlefield concerns now downplay the traditional tanks-and-troops profile. Cyber-warfare has soared in importance, along with pre-emptive intelligence.

Israel may be swimming in advanced technology, but the sway of tradition is unmistakable. World-renowned activist Natan Sharansky invited me to Sabbath dinner with his family. Originally, I planned to step through a bevy of questions I had entered on my iPad. Instead I had to work from memory. As custom has it, the only lights on a Sabbath dinner table flicker from the candles.

The high point of my visit was a rousing hour-long one-on-one with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In August 1999, I first met with Netanyahu when I was honored by the AISH Hatorah organization, along with then U.S. Senator John Kerry and then U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich. After his first term as prime minister, Netanyahu had turned his attention to plans to retool Israel's economy to its dazzling new look.

Before I began my recent meeting in the Prime Minister's office, Ron Dermer, Israel's new ambassador to the United States, confided in me: "Harvey, this is the first time in my career I've had a boss who works harder than I do. He's simply 24/7." I suspected I would be talking with a leader as dedicated to successful meeting preparation as I am. Netanyahu did not disappoint.

Time and again, I've emphasized how much any leader today has to be a consummate salesperson. Netanyahu may be unmatched in his salesmanship flair among the many senior statesmen I've met. He used his time with me to step through his national agenda with ease and impact.

Netanyahu's account of whittling down tax rates and making telephone costs competitive was exact. His economics were as precise as his passion for preserving Jewish history was intense. The seemingly endless supply of facts and ideas made their mark. None, though, resonated as much as the fact that I was experiencing a gifted communicator at his best.

What made the prime minister's communication so forceful yet appealing? I captured my reactions immediately after the meeting. I listed signature points that summed up Netanyahu's expert communications command.

The first indications could be considered primarily stylistic:

-- Firm handshake.

-- Penetrating eye contact.

-- Easy, laid-back humor.

-- Modulated speaking, ranging from a haunting whisper to a bellowing laugh.

-- Engaging smile.

-- Poise.

These highly appealing trimmings only worked because the meat-and-potatoes of the prime minister's comments were so solid. That's where the second set of traits played such a powerful part:

-- Authoritative command of content.

-- Focus in clearly making each of his points.

-- Passion for his messages.

-- Conviction that his course was right.

-- Confidence that he and his team knew how to prevail.

-- Charisma in presenting his message so it registered on the emotions as much as intellect.

Guess what? You don't need to clock time at the United Nations General Assembly to develop this sort of expertise. These are the same skills that are the stock-in-trade of communications training outfits like Toastmasters International and Dale Carnegie. Go investigate. Whether it's widgets or world policy, salesmanship skills work wonders.

Mackay's Moral: You don't have to be a prime minister to be a prime mover.

From the beginning, we are taught by our parents what NOT to do. Don't cross the street without looking. Don't go to bed without brushing your teeth. Don't talk back. Don't get in trouble. And on and on.

Similarly, from an early age we are told by our parents, "Don't worry, honey. Everything will be all right." Or "Let me kiss it and make it well." From infancy up, we're inundated with platitudes that may provide short-term diversion but don't work in the long run.

One of my favorite books, Norman Vincent Peale's "The Power of Positive Thinking," is a classic bestseller that inspired an optimistic perspective for millions of Americans. I was deeply honored when Dr. Peale wrote an endorsement for my first book, "Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive."

Now Bob Knight, the legendary college basketball coach, has written an inspirational and entertaining rebuttal to Dr. Peale's book, explaining why negative thinking will actually produce more positive results, in sports and in daily life. His new book is titled, "The Power of Negative Thinking."

Known for his fiery temperament, Coach Knight feels that most basketball games are not won; they are lost. That's why his coaching philosophy is to instill discipline by preparing to win, rather than hoping to win.

Preparation keeps you from beating yourself. In his locker rooms, he posted a sign that read, "Victory favors the team making the fewest mistakes." He writes about the value of watching game film with his team to pinpoint mistakes "and especially patterns of mistakes so they don't occur again."

A coach is always teaching. He talks about free-throw shooting, which was typically a strength of a Bob Knight-coached team. He says many players struggle making free throws when the game is on the line. One of the reasons is the pressure.

He explains that it's really tough to simulate game conditions like that, so he would stop practice and pick a player to shoot two free throws. If he made both of them, they would go on with practice or practice would be over, but if he missed, it meant more running. This exercise helped players focus more at crunch time.

Coach Knight stresses the value of teamwork in having winning teams. He considered it his most important job as a coach to let every player know when he made a contribution to winning, no matter their role.

And when his teams did win, he made sure they didn't dwell on their success, but rather looked immediately to the challenges of the next game. He applies this lesson to business strategy as well.

"The Power of Negative Thinking" is punctuated with humorous stories. For example, when Coach Knight was about to take the court to coach his first game at Army, he thought the team should say a prayer in the locker room, like most of his prior coaches had done. As he was walking out to the court, an old trainer put his arm around his neck and said, "Son, for what it's worth, you and prayer are not a good mix."

Coach Knight provides his two candidates for the greatest words in the English language: "No" and "Don't."

"I've had players I've told over and over and over again, 'No, that is not what we want,'" Knight writes. "The words 'no' and 'don't' are important parts of the power of negative thinking, along with a whole long list of imperatives just as firm and final. I couldn't begin to tell you how many times I said to a player: 'What is there about the word "no" that you don't understand? What is there about the word "don't" that you don't understand?'

"Don't and can't are obviously negative phrases, but putting the words into use can bring very positive results."

He points out that seven of the Ten Commandments start with "Thou shalt not ..." He even developed his own Ten Commandments, including:

-- Don't accept the status quo. Look for better when others are satisfied.

-- Always question. The best of all questions: Why?

-- Look for improvements to make in yourself or bad habits to break.

-- Never think talent alone will determine the outcome.

-- Never talk too much. Get yourself a degree from the Shut-Up School.

Mackay's Moral: "Everybody wants to win, but not everyone wants to prepare to win." -- Bob Knight

Many years ago, a management consultant named Ivy Lee was called in by Charles Schwab, chairman of Bethlehem Steel Company, to give Schwab advice on how to better manage his time. After observing Schwab for several hours, Lee suggested: "Every evening write down the six most important things that must get done the next day, and list them in order of importance. Don't begin item two until item one is complete."

Schwab asked Lee how much he wanted for this advice. Lee replied, "Use the plan for six months and send me a check for how much you think it is worth."

Schwab realized the value of this advice, as well as the importance of time. How you spend your time can be as important as how you spend your money.

After six months, Lee received a check from Schwab for $25,000, which was a lot of money in the 1920s.

I would submit that time is an organization's most valuable commodity. Waste it, and you are throwing away an irreplaceable resource. Time is not an enemy unless you try to kill it. An hour lost is never found.

We all start out in life with one thing in common -- the same number of minutes and hours in each day. That remains constant whether we live 50 years or 100 years. So why is it that some people accomplish so much, and others, very little?

Do you complain that you never have enough time to finish projects or complete your work? The reason may be that you're wasting your time, because you haven't figured out how to use it well. Here are some ideas to get time on your side:

-- Begin your day with a plan. If you have no plan on how to tackle your workload, you'll end up battered by competing demands. Manage your time better by doing the right things well, not by doing the wrong things faster. At the end of your day, make a to-do list for the next day, so you can be productive immediately in the morning.

-- Prioritize, don't procrastinate. Many people like doing the easy things first and saving the harder things for the end. But what if those harder things never get done, or there are emergencies that come up? Your plan should be prioritized by order of importance, even if it means tackling the hard jobs first.

-- Take on what you can reasonably handle. Sometimes it's hard to say "no," but be careful not to let your work pile up, causing you to miss deadlines. This can lead to poor performance and unnecessary stress.

-- Tidy up your workspace. Studies show the average American worker is a disorganized mess. A minute here and there spent looking for stuff can add up fast. A messy desk wastes time and adds to your distractions. Organize and get rid of the clutter.

-- Focus. People lack productivity because they can't stay focused or they are continuously distracted and interrupted. If you are able to maintain your concentration, you will be amazed at the amount of work you can accomplish.

-- Get adequate sleep. Lack of sleep increases your stress level and intensifies feelings of being out of control. You'll spend time at work wishing you weren't so tired. It will also be hard to focus on the task at hand, which leads to a major time-waster: having to redo projects.

-- Take a break. Get away from work. Eat lunch somewhere other than at your desk. Take a walk around the block. A brief breather recharges your batteries and keeps you more productive, as evidenced in this story:

Two men were engaged in chopping wood. One of the men worked hard all day, seldom took a break, and took only 20 minutes for lunch. The other man took several breaks a day, spent 45 minutes for lunch, and even took a 15-minute nap before going back to work.

The first man became increasingly frustrated because, no matter how hard he worked, the other man's pile of chopped wood was always much bigger than his at the end of the day.

"I don't understand how you do it," said the first man one day. "Every time I look around, you are sitting down, and yet you cut more wood than I do. Why is that?"

With a smile, the second man replied, "Did you also notice that while I was sitting down, I was sharpening my ax?"

Mackay's Moral: Killing time isn't murder, it's suicide.