Apple is hoping to recapture the magic of its retail locations as it reopens its New York City flagship store this week. The stores are still incredibly profitable on a per-square-foot basis even as other retailers have pushed the envelope on design and customer experience.

This photo was submitted by Diane Sadowski.

Working after a merger or acquisition can feel like navigating an obstacle maze, and it helps to list and voice these barriers, writes Linda Rossetti. "The key is not so much the presence or absence of a specific barrier, but our response to them," she writes.

Improve your leadership skills by frequently saying 10 phrases such as, "What's possible?", "How can I help?" and "I don't know," writes Dan McCarthy. These phrases help show that you desire to understand, care what others think and seek to praise others, he writes.

Strategic leaders, as defined by David Rooke and William Torbert, are visionary, can handle conflict and are able to recognize and adjust for external factors, writes Creative Business CEO Jeanne Hardy. Good strategists "are able to acknowledge negative emotions in others and respond accordingly without letting emotions affect their personal decision-making process," she writes.

Companies can become effective differentiators by paying close attention to customers and building an operation that engages them on several levels, writes Isaac Krakovsky of PwC US. He names six areas of operational differentiation but cautions that it's best to be excellent at least two areas, not all six.

Ty Haney, CEO of clothing brand Outdoor Voices, says her success comes from staying hungry, exercising to get an endorphin hit and believing that anything is "totally possible." "There's no finish line, but there's an opportunity every day to get better," she says.

A study suggests that rats can learn to play hide-and-seek, employ complicated strategies to find the best hiding spots and squeal with delight when they win. Scientists measured brain responses of the rats as they played as part of research into how play and cognitive ability are related.

US manufacturing production increased 0.5% in August, reversing a 0.4% decline in July, according to the Federal Reserve. Economists say it is too soon to conclude a trade-driven slowdown has ended.

A US judge has authorized Purdue Pharma to continue operating as it seeks bankruptcy protection and the settlement of more than 2,600 lawsuits concerning its role in the opioid epidemic. Keeping the company in business is seen as an essential part of the settlement.