Water too clear breeds no fish

If merchants and intermediaries can’t make money because costs are squeezed to the absolute minimum—leaving zero profit at every stage—then who in this ecosystem is actually going to survive? Think about it: if a company isn’t making money, do you really think you’ll have a job?

So the cost gets shifted onto someone else. That’s what drives industrial relocation—in essence, becoming an upstream player and pushing costs downstream.

In the workplace, the departments with the most budget, the best track record for showcasing results, and the highest mobility are usually the upstream ones. These tend to be R&D, sales, product, and investors.

Staying focused on your own patch of ground, striving to move upstream, and shifting costs onto other departments, other companies—while taking care of yourself, your team, and your own company—that’s what a sane person would do.