The right way to say goodbye

( a random photo of SF civic center in the morning)

Today a fellow Yahoo! engineer ping’ed me on IM and asked to shoot some 9-ball.   While we were playing, he mentioned that he was leaving in 2 days for the greener pasture of smaller startups.

While I was still taking in the news, I finished shooting in the first 7 balls straight and was about to go for the kill for an easy 8 ball and missed it with too much english.  He talked me through how he was going to finish me off and he won the first game.

I told him, this is no way to leave Yahoo!.  How come I didn’t know about it until now?  There were other people who left and I didn’t find out until several months later.

As a courtesy, I think everyone you ever worked with should be told by email or in person that you are leaving 1-2 week before you leave.  I think it’s a basic courtesy to your co-workers that you’ve been dealing with for the last 3-4 years.  It also sets a precedence and example for others to follow and not just quietly leave.   I have a hard time finding the right words.  The following come to mind: humanity, compassion, value, teamates, respect, connect.

When I leave this company, I hope to go out with a big bang!


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