Showing up on time and clearing your "in" tray by 5 pm, can no longer guarantee you a job for life. Today's employees can expect to have to change jobs a number of times and take more responsibility for their success.

The new three R's of the career world are resume, Rolodex (a rotating device for business cards) and reputation. You are as good as the skills and results you can confidently brag about (resume), the contacts you maintain in your professional life (Rolodex) and the individuals who swear by your work (reputation).

Here are ten ways to keep your resume strong and your Rolodex full — and power your reputation and career along the road to success.

1. Remind people how much you've done for them - A carton manufacturer hasn't missed a deadline in recent memory. So, for the past ten years, the boss has added a box score to the monthly invoice, listing date requested, date delivered and the difference between the two. With this little reminder of sterling on-time performance, business jumped. Done subtly, self-promotion is a potent tool.

2. Give others credit - Some people act as if, recognising the contributions of others will some-how diminish themselves. Yet, giving credit costs you nothing and nets you a lot. If somebody even casually gave you a good tip that led you to success, in his mind that person knows he gave you the critical clue at the right moment. So give him credit! You'll gain goodwill.

3. Don't forget thank-you notes - Years ago I worked for a boss who was tough and proud of it. But every evening he would write out 15 brief thank-you notes. ("George, that was a terrific idea you had. Hope you follow up on it. Walt.") He had people eating out of his hand. Positive reinforcement goes a long way; most people don't give, or get, enough of it.

4. Accumulate the small wins - Call them favours owed, chits in the bank, but small wins are a large plus. As vice president, George Bush flew tirelessly across the USA campaigning for Republicans everywhere, so by 1988 he'd built up a wall of loyalty for his presidential run.

The little stuff counts. In a speech to newspaper publishers last year, I criticised a newspaper for not getting its product to me early enough. The next morning my paper arrived at 5.05. Publisher Jay Harris had heard my talk and had taken time to deal with my complaint. No matter what the paper does to me in the future, that rooster-hour delivery will remain in my memory.

5. Search out hidden levers - Power often lies in the details, and the tenacious pursuit of such hidden levers can pay off enormously. While you don't want to get a reputation as a prissy worrywart, worrying about details in private is important. You may think you're the world's greatest speaker, but if the auditorium's sound system is singing static—well, forget it.

6. Rolodex power - The most potent people I've known have been the best networkers. They know everybody everywhere—and have just been to lunch with most of them.

The director of consulting firm McKinsey & Co, used to advise his employers not to waste lunches eating alone, buried in their reports. He knew that market development is as much a lunchtime activity as an analytic one.

Keep working at the phones. And go to parties, golf outings, or whatever. At such gatherings you'll make contacts, and mingling may produce a deal.

7. Mind your manners - At McKinsey I got good advice from one of the firm's senior partners: "You will be pushing some ideas beyond what people around here want to confront. Make sure you're irreproachable on the little stuff—show up for meetings on time, dress conservatively, and so on."

Don't be a smart aleck; learn to hold your tongue and don't ever embarrass folks in public. Too many experts blunt their effectiveness by relentlessly parading their brains and, especially, by publicly embarrassing people.

8. Study hard - Harvey Mackay, author, entrepreneur and management guru, has listed 66 questions you should be able to answer about your clients—including their anniversary dates, your client, your boss, your co-worker than the next person, and you've got a leg up.

Years ago I met the fellow who ran Boeing's defence-related helicopter business. His rule of thumb: one hour of preparation for every minute of a client meeting. If he got a 20-minute slot with a senior official in the Saudi government, that meant studying for about 20 hours—from defence capabilities to the many-branched royal family tree.

9. Build credibility on the outside. In today's world, relationships outside your company are at least as important as internal ones. Once you're indispensable to outsiders, insiders dare not lay a glove on you. The strategy worked miracles for McKinsey superstar Kenichi Ohmae, who long headed the company's Japanese operations.

Ohmae has written books, he's involved in Japanese politics, and he's respected commentator on economics and management McKinsey couldn't have fired him if it wanted do.

10. People can sense emotional commitment - When I was in a junior job in the US government's Office of Management and Budget, I seemed to get a lot done (that's what people said anyway). The secret was bulldog persistence on issues that mattered to me but were not at the top of other people's agendas. Realizing my tenacity, the opposition usually let me have my way rather than waste time fighting. People can smell commitment from far away.