We’re hearing a lot in the news lately about executive pay. Specifically, about executives who make more money in a year than most people will make in their lifetime – even those considered well paid – while making blunders so severe that millions of employees lose their job, their pension, their savings, their home, and their hope. I don’t know about you, but that’s certainly not what I had in mind when I set my sights on personal success as an executive.

Some people support the bailouts, some don’t. But even the staunchest supporters are generally motivated by saving jobs and the economy, not by a desire to keep executives rolling in dough after having let their company go under.

However, to be fair, not all executives from all of these companies are to blame. Many of them, I’m sure, tried to do the precise things that were needed to avert disaster but were stonewalled, or shot down in flames by guys with bigger guns. We’ve all been there – and it’s often why people choose an entrepreneur opportunity over ‘employee’ as the road to personal success.

Ironically, it’s probably the guys who tried the hardest who are losing the most sleep. They feel the weight of their failure and the consequences but, really, they were the best the company had.

Lessons to be learned? Sometimes the guys who make the most noise are more than just squeaky wheels. And, from the other viewpoint: You don’t have to go down with the ship. Sink your oars into more friendly waters.

Keep these in mind on your road to personal success.