Up, Down and Sideways: How to Be a Better Leader in 2016 Which approach is better: vertical or horizontal leadership?

This article is part of our Trends 2016 coverage.

The light bulb went on for Jeff Greenfield, co-founder and COO of media analytics firm C3 Metrics, on a rare vacation. It was the first one he had taken unplugged, without his phone or computer; his major activity while in Camden, Maine, turned out to be sleeping. One day he conked out at 5 p.m.

This prompted his wife to suggest that he shed some entrepreneurial hats. In the crystallizing absence of digital distractions, he realized she was right. "It was time for me to step away," says Greenfield, whose Portsmouth, N.H.-based company uses sophisticated software and algorithms to measure the effectiveness of advertising. "I told myself I'm not going to be reactive anymore."