Are you feeling lucky? It could make you a better leader

You can make any message -- be it an email, a presentation or a speech -- memorable by tying all of your details to a central idea, sparking curiosity with questions and using a "callback" to reference an earlier story or example to close the loop, writes Charan Ranganath, a professor at the Center for Neuroscience and Department of Psychology. "During the callback, we saw greater activation of the brain circuitry involved in forming new memories, and the callback helped our subjects retain more information from the story," Ranganath suggests.

Put it into practice: Concrete details that can paint a picture in the mind of your listener are more memorable than abstract concepts, Ranganath writes. "Research shows that people find it harder to memorize an abstract concept like 'justice' than something that we can easily visualize or imagine, like, 'gavel.'"

Make your team feel heard to promote success by prioritizing communication, says Tara VanDerveer, the former Sanford University women's basketball coach who holds the record for winning the most games. VenDerveer also recommends positive reinforcement and maintaining consistency to boost performance while remembering the challenge isn't winning, but "to be the best team we can be."

Luca, a Shiloh shepherd, has taken the top honor in Nationwide Insurance's annual Hambone Award after taking apart a kitchen cabinet to unearth the trashcan hidden inside and ingest several corn cobs that could have cause an obstruction, but Luca's human, Lori, averted disaster with a vet visit. Other dogs in the running included a New Jersey mixed-breed pup who literally went through the front door to greet the mail carrier and a North Carolina mixed-breed dog who ate many pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

It's true that we tend to notice negative things and events in our lives more than we notice positive things. Psychologists say it's an evolutionary hold-over. Laura Carstensen, a psychology professor at Stanford University, says: "It's more important for people, for survival, to notice the lion in the brush than it is to notice the beautiful flower that's growing on the other side of the way."

That's why practices, such as the one focusing on luck from executive coach James Kerr, are so important. We don't need to pay too much attention to lions in the brush these days, so we can choose to spend more time thinking about the beautiful flowers, the successful project or the amazing parking space we found today.

Kerr's suggested "luck" practice is simply another way to practice gratitude, which experts say can build and strengthen relationships, give us a sense of well-being and make us more likely to help or reach out to others who may be in need.

"For leaders, these outcomes translate into a more positive work environment, better team cohesion and improved decision-making capabilities," writes Kerr.

I invite you to try this practice tonight. It's just 30 seconds, and you may be grateful you did it.

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