You could tell them why they should hire you so very much…
““You could tell them why they should hire you so very much better than I could. But they won't listen to you and they'll listen to me. Because I'm the middleman. The shortest distance between two points is not a straight line--it's a middleman. And the more middlemen, the shorter. Such is the psychology of a pretzel.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Middlemen claim to simplify connections, but they actually distort and lengthen the process, creating a pretzel‑like complexity.
In simple terms: Middlemen complicate things.
Key Takeaway
Beware unnecessary intermediaries.
Themes
economics
communication
power
manipulation
Mood
analytical
skeptical
Type
advice
philosophical
When to use this quote
- business negotiations
- project management
- political lobbying
Key Concepts
middleman theory
network efficiency
psychology of shortcuts
Questions to Reflect On
- When does a middleman add value?
- How to identify unnecessary layers?
A Different Perspective
Sometimes middlemen can add value by expertise.