Companies have long been preoccupied with efficiency; that is, the ratio of outputs to inputs, for example, how many wine bottles were sold relative to the cost of producing them. While it is easier to count sales dollars to costs, the ratio fails at measuring its resulting benefit or value. We know what it costs to produce the wine, but how does one describe the wine? Did it deliver the desired taste or experience to the consumer?

Effectiveness doesn’t readily lend itself to a balance sheet. Instead, it must be assessed by leaders who are adept at judging whether the desired effect was produced. Without that, measurements of efficiency have little meaning. Remember, innovation is inherently inefficient. Effectiveness should be evaluated based on the business’s purpose, preferences and desires relative to what management is willing to spend.

Source: Linked in: Stop Worrying About Efficiency

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Tapping into social norms is a low-cost, and effective means of getting your business’ message across to customers. Consider some principles of social norms and situations where using them might help others to understand your point of view:

• People naturally tend towards what they view as the norm; for example, when hotel managers left information cards in their rooms informing guests that “75% of customers reuse towels,” the reuse rate went up over 30%.
• Another strategy to leverage is the reciprocity principle: a client’s instinct to return a small gift or favor often yields better cooperation.
• Finally, finding common ground—even superficial things like the kind of car you drive—promotes favorable outcomes in business negotiations.

Source: Wall Street Journal: The Science Behind Persuading People

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Many people, especially when nervous and amongst strangers, tend to over promote themselves. For example, a CEO started training as an amateur cyclist; he joined a weekend competition where he met a fellow rider and introduced himself as a CEO on a bike ride.

False humility doesn’t fool anyone. It’s not unusual — people often want reassurance in uncertain situations. But, if your introductions are self-focused, you probably will find yourself in a one-sided conversation. And really, that’s counter productive when trying to meet new people, both in personal and business contexts.

How do you introduce yourself? By your second sentence, do you feel like you’ve walked into a job interview?

Instead, keep these tips in mind to keep your introductions focused on learning about the other person – and, if it goes well, on an emerging conversation:

Less is More: This is a kinder version of the more popular “Keep It Simple, Stupid;” don’t say anything unnecessarily forced, keep it natural.

Context is Key: If you must expound on your personal background, keep details relevant to the situation at hand.

Understate: In the real world, your job title is nearly meaningless to strangers, also in some business situations.

And what do you do? Make the exchange about the other person; ask questions, and above all, listen!

Source: Best Way to Introduce Yourself

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