The art of good business is being a good middleman

Thirty years ago, I predicted the end of the intermediary. It’s the one prediction I got wrong as the intermediary – the middleman – is the key to good business. This is one thing I’ve learned after all these years. It’s not what you know. It’s who you know. The broker who can link the buyer and the seller is the key to the process.

You may say I’m wrong but think about it. You buy something online through Amazon. Amazon is the middleman or, in today’s woke world, the middle person. The same with eBay, Facebook or any other platform. When you think of it this way, you realise that all of our engagements are via brokers, middle persons and intermediaries. This is why the intermediary is integral to all of our lives.

We believe we are independent and in control, but the fact is that we are not. We deal with agents – soon to be agentic AI agents – in a network of connections where those who do the best business and those who are the best connectors: the intermediary, the middle person, the one who knows who knows who.

This builds on the theme of how do you know you are you: you only find what you want by knowing who knows who. The art of good business is being a good middleman.

Going way back when, we talked about the Old Boys Club. Whoever went to university with whoever held all the power. This is why Eton, Harrow and more line the halls of Parliamnet. Whichever political party you support, you needed to be in the hallowed halls to connect. The art of good business is being a good middleman.

Or take the Sopranos or any other gangster movie. It’s all about your connections. It’s all about who you know. It’s all about the broker, the intermediary, the middleman.

The reason why this is key is that it struck me today, as I received a note saying that my pension plan was shutting down. I thought my pension was with their company, but the letter said it was with another company selling through yet another company. A complex network of dealers had my plan.

This is what I got wrong thirty years ago and, for those who think dealers and brokers are irrelevant today, they will get it wrong today. There’s always a dealer, a broker, a middleman. The art of good business is being a good middleman.

This is probably the big thing we all learn in life, which is: the more connected you are, the more business you get. It’s not a huge revelation, except that it has changed from the Old Boys Club to the Networked Club. Why do you think the biggest technology firms are the size they are? It’s because they network, connect and intermediate. Think about it:

• Facebook intermediates the social network
• Google intermediates finding stuff
• Amazon intermediates buyers and sellers (as does eBay)

… and so it goes.

The art of good business is being a good middleman. Oh, and did I mention that this is why you will never get rid of banks?