Essentially you want to grade the site in way that conveys overland water flow away from your building.This occurs if the ground around your building is sloping away from your building.
Another way is to provide a subdrain around your houe (bldg) to intersept potential water flowing towards your house and hence convey it to a safe outlet
akil gave you good basic advice. I would simply add to be careful where you divert the water to. Most state water codes require that water, when concentrated in a pipe or channel, be taken to a "recognized drainage course". Lawyers get rich on determining what a reconized drainage course is. Try to keep the water going to the same place it went to before your construction took place or you may find yourself in court with a neighbor who discovers that he has more runoff water than before. If you can keep the water in "sheet flow" rather than concentrated, so much the better.
