Goldman Sachs: other resignation letters and manifestos of note

It was the resignation letter read around the world. Greg Smith, a Goldman Sachs director in London, resigned after publishing a devastating open letter in the New York Times accusing senior staff of being " morally bankrupt ". Of course, Smith was not the first – nor will he be the last – to pull a Jerry Maguire . Here are a few other relatively recent letters of note – some resignations, some manifestos and some a combination of the two: Google executive James Whitaker: Why I Left Google . March 13, 2012 "The Google I was passionate about was a technology company that empowered its employees to innovate. The Google I left was an advertising company with a single corporate-mandated focus." Technology columnist Paul Carr: I'm Leaving TechCruch, Here's Why . September 16, 2011 "A little over a week ago I wrote that, unless Mike Arrington was allowed to choose his own successor as editor of TechCrunch, I would no longer write for the site. Sure enough, this past Monday, a statement from AOL announced Erick Schonfeld as the new editor." Daily Star reporter Richard Peppiatt: I quit . March 4, 2011 "Undeterred by the nuisance of truth, we omitted a few facts, plucked a couple of quotes, and suddenly anyone would think a Rochdale shopping centre had hired Osama Bin Laden to stand by the taps, handing out paper towels." Jake DeSantis, an executive vice-president of AIG: March 24, 2009 "We in the financial products unit have been betrayed by AIG. and are being unfairly persecuted by elected officials." Steve Jobs: To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community . August 24, 2011 "I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come." Karen Handel, Susan G Komen executive. Feb 7, 2012 "I am deeply disappointed by the gross mischaracterizations of the strategy, its rationale, and my involvement in it." 'A Rim Employee': Open letter to RIM executives . June 30, 2011 "While I hide it at work, my passion has been sapped. I know I am not alone — the sentiment is widespread and it includes people within your own teams." Yahoo senior vice-president Brad Garlinghouse: the 'Peanut Butter Manifesto' . November 18, 2006 "I've heard our strategy described as spreading peanut butter across the myriad opportunities that continue to evolve in the online world. The result: a thin layer of investment spread across everything we do and thus we focus on nothing in particular."