I realize that tenure, per se, is not our ultimate end. For most scholars, more important pursuits include learning, experimenting, sharing, teaching, publishing, developing communities and mentoring students. Moreover, I believe we all ultimately like to be known as creative scholars, i.e., persons who can teach something new to students, and can add value to science and society. I doubt it. These are difficult questions and everyone here, I am sure, can offer advice, suggestions, and counsel on all of these questions.
Academic survival differs for each and every professor in higher education.
Some become tenured by highly effective teaching and good rapport in their departments. Some become tenured by playing effective political roles and building influential networks in their field. Some become tenured by the sheer volume of peer reviewed articles. All in all, I believe that most become tenured by doing a combination of the above. Although there is no precise formula for enhanced teaching, publication, and tenure, there are some basic things to be done.