Thursday, June 19, 2008

Best Resignation Letter Ever

Stewart Butterfield, cofounder of Flickr, has resigned from the company, signifying a parting of ways with Flickr's new owner, Yahoo. And his McSweeney's-esque exit letter is one of the best things I've read in ages.

It begins:
Dear Brad,

As you know, tin is in my blood. For generations my family has worked with this most useful of metals. When I joined Yahoo! back in '21, it was a sheet-tin concern of great momentum, growth, and innovation. I knew it was the place for me.

Over the decades, as the company grew and expanded, first into dyes and punches, into copper, corrugated steel, synthesized rubber, piping, milling equipment, engines, instruments, weaponry, and so on, I still felt at home, because tin was at the core of the business.

After the war, as we continued to branch out into electronics, all manner of aeronautical frames, hulls and bodies, computing and tabulating machines, precision controls, and later, farther afield -- real estate, brewing, consumer finance, grain processing, lighting and salty snacks -- I took it in stride, for there was still a place for me...
It gets even better. Go here to read the rest.

Good for you, Mr. Butterfield. That's the kind of soul-satisfying "burn the bridges" epistolary action you only see from multi-millionaires. Or from Rusty.

4 comments:

Paula Reece said...

I would love to know what "Brad" thought after reading the letter! I also wonder if Butterfield read the letter aloud to Brad after Cousin Eddie had kidnapped Brad in his RV and delivered him to Butterfield's doorstep with a big red bow tied around him?!

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I am reading the Pandora Prescription by James Sheridan and I was curious if you have ever read it? Also, have you heard about this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbx3qnKKC0Q

-Molly

Anonymous said...

What will Brad respond after reading this letter?

Dimestore Lipstick said...

I had even more fun reading the scores of comments from posters who seem to have missed the point of hte whole thing.