How do you keep a team from collapsing?

[Liz Smith]

Originally Posted by pakrat

Yeah, btu what he wants isn't unreasonable, i just think he might be acting a little bit too harsh. His leaving would be a massive blow to our team, i think he's probobly the most important single member.

I don't think that someone who would just walk away from a team like this is really a dedicated member. If he is committed, then he probably is just making threats. If he's asking for some team improvement, he should try to come up with solutions instead of just walking away. If he wants something for personal reasons then he is putting himself before the team, which isn't good. Either way, his walking away doesn't seem to help the team in any way and isn't a good way to find a solution to a problem.
I don't really like the term "most important", I don't think that anyone should be "most important" in a team, but i sort of understand what you mean. My suggestion, if his knowledge is really worth that much, is to bring him back and as a team try to come up with solutions so everyone is happy.