Much has been written about Netflix’s embarrassing flip-flop earlier this year. The kerfuffle was over CEO Reed Hastings’ unfortunate decision that he quickly reversed when his cus­­tomers protested loudly. In the process, Hastings forgot to do one key thing: offer an apology.

When Captain Chesley Sullenberger made the decision to land his doomed plane in the Hudson River, he didn’t have time to calculate his odds of success. He made his decision based on “heuristics,” a rule that directs focus to areas that matter while blocking out nonessential information. Could it work in organizations?

Some leaders have an almost magical ability to predict where the market is going and take the right risk at the right time. One such case study is Andy Grove, co-founder of microprocessing giant ­Intel. His four tips for staying one step ahead:

Despite talk about flattening hierarchies, leaders still call the shots. “For successful leaders, the way you manage is much more Machiavellian than is conventionally perceived today,” says Noel Tichy, University of Michigan professor and change agent at General Electric.