Lesson 1: You WILL be thrown under the bus

I had a great boss who always told me and others he would stand behind us in any time of turmoil and would gladly take a bullet for us to protect us in the event something happened that was the result of a failure of process. I had no reason to not believe him. Compared to other directors, he was far more transparent and true to his word.  Unfortunately when push came to shove, even my progressive boss threw me under the bus.