Musar על סנהדרין 27:10

This, too, shall he see [to do]. Not to take upon himself any appointments, if not for mitzvah matters. For [if he does] he is very likely to stumble into the sin of lashon hara. And he should fulfill in himself the dictum of Chazal (Sanhedrin 14a): "Be lowly and live." In general, one who wishes to be "complete" in his ways should avoid the company of men as much as he can. And even if he is a businessman, who sometimes must meet with men who are not reputable at all, to do business with them, still, so long as it is not absolutely essential to join them, he should distance himself from them.