In the competitive world of investing, you make your break quick and clean. But you don't sever ties forever. When his former boss returned, Lin explained his decision. He reiterated that he valued his relationships at Robertson Stephens and was committed to maintaining them -- and left it at that. No sense in overpromising and underdelivering. But then Lin proved that he meant what he'd said. He updated his institutional-sales team on his client relationships, and he introduced his former clients to the colleagues at Robertson who would be taking over for him.

But he didn't stop there. Lin spent his first nine months at E*Offering demonstrating to his former colleagues that he considered them partners, not competitors: He introduced them to click2asia.com, an online portal for people interested in Asia. As a result, Robertson put some venture capital into that company. Similarly, Lin introduced Robertson to XUMA.com, a startup that was heading toward IPO.

If Lin could replay his departure, he would have met directly with his team. "I should have shown people that I was leaving only because I got an offer that was too good to refuse." Indeed, Lin got what he wanted -- the best of both worlds. One new title on his E*Offering business card says so: "player-coach."

Coordinates: Patrick Lin, plin@eoffering.com

Scene Five: When you're leaving for the wrong reasons

Protagonist: Wilford Williams, 55, formerly HR director of operations and technology at BankBoston Corp.; now HR business partner for global services at FleetBoston Financial Corp.

When BankBoston merged with Fleet Financial Group this past October, Wilford Williams believed that he'd been left on the sidelines. He had worked at BankBoston for four years. Most recently, he was reporting directly to the executive vice president of human resources. But, as often happens in mergers, a new executive did some reassigning. Williams found himself reporting to someone who was a step removed from the executive suite. He feared that the talent market would view this new assignment as a demotion. "I felt that I was passed over," he says.

In the flurry of the reorganization, no one had bothered to tell Williams what came next. And his emotions took over. "If they didn't think they needed to explain things to me, I thought that I didn't need to stay."

Last November, Williams marched into the office of the new executive vice president of HR and announced that he was quitting. He concedes that he made a rash decision. But the executive never lost her cool and campaigned to keep Williams on -- not by offering a higher salary or a retention bonus, but by explaining that Williams would play a critical role in the company's future. Then, to his surprise, BankBoston president Charles Gifford met with him. They talked about how the bank "needed someone who understood the partnership between human resources and the business," Williams recalls. Half an hour later, he realized that he'd made a mistake and reversed his decision.

Williams had violated the cardinal rule of quitting: When you give notice, don't go back on your decision -- just go. Yet he gave notice and stayed, proving that in the real world, you must sometimes make up your own rules. "I let myself get caught up in the emotion of the merger," he says. "I realized that I was running away, and that's the worst reason to leave a company."

So, how do you reenlist in a company after you've given notice? By never looking back. Williams threw himself into his work. He feels back in the flow, and anticipates many exciting opportunities for him and his company. "Now that I see the work that needs to be done, I have no regrets."

Coordinates: Wilford Williams, wjwilliams@bkb.com

Rekha Balu (rbalu@fastcompany.com) is a Fast Company senior writer.

Action Item: Vent Here

You've had a bad day at work. You're not ready to quit, but you sure need to blow off some steam. Well, you can live vicariously through i-resign.com, a UK-based site that has spoof resignations in categories like the "Gloat" and the "Stab in the Back." But the site isn't all a farce. If you're unsure how to handle broken contracts or unclaimed bonuses, you can link to government and legal advisers in the United States and in the UK. And if you do become unemployed, the site offers resources for handling your pension and finances.

Coordinates: i-resign.com, (www.i-resign.com)