It completely blows my mind that people feel they can lie, cheat and steal and still be successful in our industry. After all, we're not in the legal profession. (Sorry lawyers, I couldn't resist!)

The basics of building your industry credibility start with your integrity. First, think about what you're saying before words start flying out of your mouth. If you say that you're going to do something, then do it. As an example, marketers (those of us on the buy side) often compare notes and complain about salespeople that promise the world and don't deliver. While I understand the need to talk a good game, all you'll be doing is filling a hot air balloon if you can't deliver on your word.

The people whom I choose to align myself with -- whether it's a vendor, agency, publisher or strategic partner -- all have earned my trust by consistently delivering on their word. These are the same people that have not only earned my business but have also become trusted partners and friends that I know I can count on to lead my business in the right direction. I often seek these people out as sounding boards whenever I'm starting a new initiative or need help breaking through a plateau. In addition, these are the first people who I recommend to anyone within earshot every chance I get.

Second, admit it when things don't go as planned. Murphy's law dictates that your campaign, business process, communication, technology and anything else that can go wrong will eventually go wrong.

The most common situation for me is that a media campaign performs horribly even though we put our best foot forward and felt confident in its success prior to launch. Not even the rock stars in our business knock it out of the park 100 percent of the time.

In fact, the rock stars probably can write the book on business snafus. The key to coming out ahead even in the biggest FUBAR situation is how you handle it.

Anyone on the other side of the fence from me in these situations knows that if they minimize damage, regroup and analyze the situation quickly, they've just earned their merit badge. My best media reps are the ones that are able to quickly pivot, whether it's to kill a campaign or look for a solution to shift ad dollars to something else. It shows me that they care about our success and are in the business relationship for the long-term, not just for a short-term commission.