Andy Rutledge has written an amazing ebook on taking back our design profession. Design Profesionalism brilliantly outlines how we as industry professionals should behave, outlines the basic knowledge we should all have and sets standards we should all adhere to in an attempt to make the design industry as professional as every other mature, respected industry like accountants, doctors, engineers etc. I believe that until you have read this book, you should probably stop pushing pixels, writing code or passing yourself off as someone credible.
You can purchase his ebook for the low $9 or just visit the beautifully designed website where he shares the information for free.