You're probably thinking of "The elves have left Middle Earth"? That's slightly different -- it's a reference from this blogpost[0] which is talking about bean-

You're probably thinking of "The elves have left Middle Earth"? That's slightly different -- it's a reference from this blogpost[0] which is talking about bean-counters taking over from focus on product, i.e., basically fiddling more with costs than trying to innovate to improve revenues. https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-earth-%E2%80%93-soda%E2%80%99s-are-no-longer-free/ https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-ear...