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  • He comments on every blog that mentions his company. When the startup Sharpcast sponsored this week's GigaOM relaunch party, many attendees had no idea what the company does. Supr.c.ilio.us blogger Eran Globen noted this; so did I. CEO Gibu Thomas responded to Eran. Even if Gibu is Googling himself all day, can't he hand this work off to a flack?
  • He's sending out his own press releases. When a friend of mine got a release signed by the company's CEO, he imagined this guy tapping out all his own corporate messages instead of managing his business.
  • He or she shows up at every party. There's nothing wrong with attending several good conferences, but dominating the schmooze circuit is useless to most CEOs. Why not take some of those days off for one-on-one meetings with contacts?
  • He hands me his business card but doesn't take time to chat with me. That was JanRain CEO Scott Kveton's mistake at the aforementioned party. I don't know who Scott is or what JanRain does, but I know there's a good reason his business card is printed cheaply — he must buy these things in bulk.