Getting tenure

Via an interview Mike Munger has some useful comments on getting tenure. I would add one thing:

Think about your external letters. Deans may not read and digest articles, but they can do so for letters. It is worth your while early on to start thinking about who would be good--or not good--to write you a letter. Typically this means someone who admires your work without being too close to you to constitute an obvious conflict of interest. Negative letters, or too much damning with faint praise, can easily derail a borderline case. Find out early on how much input you have in choosing the letter writers and vetoing those who you think might not be appropriate.