I first heard the words in the title of this article many years ago – back in the 1980s – while reading a book by Tom Peters. Here is what that means to me:

• Clown around in the board room with a colleague while VIPs are present and you will be perceived to be a clown – or a low-level aid fresh out of college even if you are a Senior VP of Marketing.
• Treat a subordinate the way a tyrant treats a peasant and people will conclude that you are insecure swine and/or an unfeeling barbarian who is unpleasant to be around.
• As an otherwise brilliant colleague of mine did after getting hired in a senior role for a major corporation, attend your various executive meetings and keep your nose in your mobile phone during the meetings (which is where you normally take notes), and you will be seen as someone who is disconnected from the meeting, checked out, and deemed to have possibly been a “bad hire.”
• Since you come from a culture on the other side of the world where being barefoot when you are not wearing sandals or flip flops is normative, go ahead and be barefoot when in your office. That way, when a fellow or more senior executive pokes his or her head into your new corner office, they will perceive you to be clueless about office decorum and wonder how you got the job – no matter how good you are.
• When a colleague is hosting a meeting in the conference room and you hear something that you believe needs either correction or elaboration, stand up and walk to the front of the room where the white board is, grab a marker, and start drawing various diagrams and formulas as you essentially highjack the meeting. That way, your colleagues will imagine you lack judgment.

Here are the solutions to the examples above:

• Always know your surroundings and know that there is a time and a place for almost anything. Too much merriment and horseplay – especially when outsiders are lurking nearby – can sink your career. Decide you wish to be seen as a serious and capable professional and act accordingly.
• Never treat anyone who works for you with disrespect. If there is a serious issue, take things behind closed doors, maintain a calm demeanor, and remain factual – even if you’re angry. Control thy tongue. One of IBM’s Governing Values back in an earlier era was “The Individual Must Be Respected.”
• If you are new to an organization, DO NOT use your mobile phone or tablet or laptop to take notes – certainly not in the early stages of your tenure. Instead, go the old fashioned way. Use pen to notepad. It’s more open. It’s more visible. And people will perceive you as deeply engaged. You can switch back to your electronic device of choice once you get the Green Light from the Powers-That-Be but that only happens (if it happens at all) once they know you and trust you.
• Know what the protocols are for attire, including footwear, and adhere to that. It’s up to you to find that out in advance. My rule of thumb: Be at least as well-dressed at the best-dressed colleagues in the room.
• When a colleague is running a meeting, exercise restraint. Resist the urge to get up and go to the white board to dazzle. Instead, take notes, be circumspect, recognize that your new colleagues have different aptitudes. Keep track of what the norms are.

Case in point: Mere days ago, I saw a more senior executive make a blunder – for the second time. I had casually spoken to him about it when he made the exact same blunder a month ago. This time, I did not bring it up again. I don’t want to make waves. But going forward, I will be keeping track of how often and when this error repeats itself. At some point in the future, I may have to address it with him again, or I may have someone else address it if and when it becomes a pattern.

But I will have data.

Final tip: All of us have blind-spots. We often cannot perceive how we are coming across. Get a mentor or coach to agree to observe you in various work settings or professional interactions. They will notice things you could not possibly notice. Take feedback from them and learn from it. Doing so will bend the odds in your favor that you will enjoy a career of longevity.