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I've noticed a trend in goodbyes from Yahoo: All the departing executives claim to "bleed purple." If so, Yahoo blood is thinner than water, because there's little love for president Sue Decker's new regime. Jacki Kelley is the latest executive to flee the sales side, now under Decker ally Hilary Schneider. She headed up sales strategy and worked on Yahoo Travel, one of the first areas of the portal to try to integrate banner and search-ad sales. Kelley is joining former Yahoo sales chief Wenda Harris Millard at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. This isn't just another departure, in other words — it's a show of loyalty.

In Millard, Yahoo had an executive who commanded her employees' respect and admiration. But she was brutally pushed out by Decker, in an episode that's still talked about — including Decker's laughably clumsy attempt at a reconciliation, a gesture undertaken purely for keeping up appearances. Decker is clearly a brilliant strategist — except when it comes to managing people, a field where she clearly struggles.

And her apparent second-in-command, Hilary Schneider, is little better. A memo to the staff announcing Kelley's departure ends with this note: "Thanks in advance for your continued focus." In other words, dear Yahoos, please stop looking for new jobs and speculating about who's next to go. Schneider, for form's sake, wishes Kelley "best of luck." She should have saved some for herself. And Decker.