Plus: The In Search of Excellence co-author Tom Peters on reputation.

Guarding your Reputation is easy. To build it, though, you must invest insane amounts of time in developing and maintaining relationships from the bottom to the top of every organization with which you come in contact. You need a bit of self-deprecation. You need to shoot straight. And you need to say more, rather than less. The press will cut you an incredible amount of slack if it is clear to them that you are a straight shooter.