About this quote

Value only exists when your assets are functional and intact. If you burn your bridges or push your team to the point of collapse, you end up with nothing of worth. You have to keep the goose alive if you want the golden eggs. Are you destroying your own leverage just to win a temporary argument? Keep your head cool and focus on the actual payoff.

When to use it

• A project manager advising a lead developer to stop pushing the team to midnight shifts before a major software release: 'Let them go home; they are no good to me dead if they burn out before launch.'
• A landlord deciding not to raise the rent so high that a reliable, clean tenant is forced to move out: 'I could squeeze them for another hundred dollars, but an empty apartment is no good to me dead.'
• A track coach telling an athlete to rest a strained hamstring instead of running through the pain: 'Sit this practice out, because a completely torn muscle is no good to me dead for the state finals.'