Fame

Well, there's good fame. And there's bad fame.

Good fame is someone like Mary Meeker, the famed Internet analyst who was loved, hated, loved, hated, but mostly loved in her career writing about Yahoo, AOL, Google, and others. Good analysts are always controversial—good stock picks usually cut against what the herd is doing.

And there's bad fame—Jack Grubman. Google him. There are a slew of Internet analysts who did unethical, unprofessional, or just stupid things in the last bubble (and there's always a bubble, each decade or so).

In general, for this job, you want "focused fame." That is, the professionals around you and the CFO/CEOs in your industry know you and respect you. You don't want to be famous to housewives in Des Moines.