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."
