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To all of those who are stuck in high-stakes, rival-infested work worlds, take heed. The secrets to success can be found in HBO's Game of Thrones, where you either win … or end up with your head on a pike.
所有肩負重任、在殘酷的商海競爭中浮沉的經理人們，請注意了。成功秘訣就藏在HBO的奇幻題材連續劇《權力的游戲》（Game of Thrones）中：在這部電視劇中，一個人要么獲勝，要么只能倒在長槍下。
As we prepare for Sunday's third season premiere, let's consider the rival claimants, power brokers, and schemers in the show based on George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire book series. What can today's manager learn from these feuding fantasy clans? Quite a lot, actually. Here are five key leadership lessons we can draw from their trials.
三月底，這部根據喬治·馬丁的奇幻小說《冰與火之歌》（A Song of Ice and Fire）改編的電視劇迎來了第三季的首播。在此，不妨讓我們來看看劇中的敵我對手、權力掮客和陰謀家們。職業經理人能從這些奇幻的部族爭斗中學到些什么？太多了。我們可以從他們的磨難中學到下述5條領導經驗：
Spoiler alert: For the Johnny-come-latelies who haven't finished season two, you have been warned.
劇透警告：如果你還沒有看完第二季，請慎看。
Determine which promises you can't afford to break
確定哪些承諾必須恪守
In a chaotic world, promises matter. Just ask Jaime "Kingslayer" Lannister, the guy with the worst exit interview in Westeros. After swearing an oath to protect the last Targaryen king, Jaime stabbed his employer in the back. Literally. Granted, that particular CEO was a maniac who set people on fire. But once a reputation for honesty is tainted, there's no going back.
承諾在一個混亂的世界中很重要。這事只要問問“弒君者”詹姆·蘭尼斯特。這家伙在“日落國度”維斯特洛(Westeros)的離職面談最不堪。詹姆剛剛還信誓旦旦地要保護坦格利安最后一位國王，話音未落,他就從背后捅了自己的老板一刀。事實就是這樣。當然，那位CEO是一個人人難以忍受的瘋子。但誠實的名聲一旦受到玷污，便很難修復。
In Game of Thrones, as in life, oath-breaking can create strategic liabilities. Consider Robb Stark, who throughout the second season leans heavily on a web of contractual dependencies, most notably to Lord Walder Frey, an Ebenezer Scrooge lookalike who controls the only land access between Robb's kingdom in the north and the fighting in the south. Frey can scissor Robb's supply lines at will. The only guarantee that he won't is Robb's commitment to marry Frey's daughter. Robb violates the contract at the end of the second season when he falls for, and marries, a Red Cross volunteer. Lord Frey will not be pleased. Before breaching a contract, be certain you can bear the cost.
和現實生活中一樣，在《權力的游戲》中通過發誓可以建立戰略責任。例如，羅伯·斯塔克在整個第二季中都高度依賴契約聯盟，特別是酷似埃比尼澤·斯克魯奇的沃爾德·弗瑞公爵。弗瑞控制著北方羅伯王國與南境雄兵之間唯一的土地連接地帶，可以隨時切斷羅伯的供應線。弗瑞承諾可以不這么干，唯一的條件是羅伯答應與他的女兒結婚。第二季結束時，羅伯違反了契約，愛上了維斯特林家族的簡妮·維斯特林，還和她結了婚。弗瑞公爵自然不高興。所以，違反一項契約前，要確定你能承受違約的代價。
Protect your strongest assets
保護最寶貴的資產
Every upstart needs capital. While exiled princess Daenarys Targaryen may ultimately emerge as a winner in the game of thrones, she spent season two as a cash-strapped entrepreneur. Given her dragons' long maturation time -- they're about the size of Easter hams -- they are a few seasons away from being the kind of force multipliers that will attract investment. As a result, the khaleesi awkwardly attempts to raise unsecured loans from the merchant kings of Qarth. The wily lot may be excused for not jumping at the Mother of Dragons' elevator pitch. A scraggly band of followers, a tenuous claim to a distant throne, and no business plan are not exactly music to a venture capitalist's ears.
每個新貴都需要資本。雖然流亡皇后丹妮莉絲·坦格利安最終可能是權力游戲的贏家，但在第二季她就像是一個捉襟見肘的企業家。由于她的龍群需要很長的時間長大——現在的它們就像復活節火腿那么大——還需要有幾季，它們才能成為生力軍，引來投資。因此，這位王后艱難地試圖從Qarth的商人之王那里籌集無擔保貸款。這群狡猾的家伙沒有欣然接受龍之母的電梯推銷，或許情有可原。一群參差不齊的追隨者，渺茫的復辟希望，語焉不詳的商業計劃，這些都難以讓風險投資人感興趣。
Yet in spite of Daenarys's weak bargaining position, she avoids bad terms. By the end of season two, she has successfully navigated Qarth's den of vipers -- the most venomous, it turns out, being the man who promised her immense wealth in return for her hand in marriage. In Game of Thrones' dynastic world, marriage is merger. Aside from the dragons, being single is Daenarys's most valuable asset, one she's careful not to give away. This caution bears fruit. When it turns out that her disingenuous suitor's vaults are, in fact, empty, Daenarys learns the importance of scrutinizing a potential partner's balance sheet.
盡管丹妮莉絲在談判中處于弱勢，但她還是努力避免了陷于不利境地。第二季結束時，她已經成功穿過了Qarth的蝰蛇洞——最毒的蝰蛇就是那個曾許以她巨大財富、希望娶她的男人。《權力的游戲》描繪的王朝世界中，婚姻就是合并。除了龍群，單身是丹妮莉絲最寶貴的資產，就是不輕易許人。這種謹慎得到了回報。丹妮莉絲發現，這位虛偽的追求者金庫里空空如也。這時，她懂得了嚴格審查一位潛在合伙人資產負債表的重要性。
Cultivate middle management
培養中層管理者
A CEO can't be everywhere. In a world without videoconferencing -- and where note-carrying ravens are a slow (though bizarrely reliable) precursor to email -- it's tough to keep an eye on your investments. The solution is in delegation.
CEO不可能無時不刻都在。在一個沒有視頻會議、依賴飛鴿傳信(可靠性之高令人驚異)的世界中，很難時刻盯牢自己的投資。解決方案就是授權。
The best leaders in the Seven Kingdoms have an eye for talent. The most inspired act of executive recruitment? Tywin Lannister naming his son Tyrion as acting King's Hand.
七大王國中最好的領導者具有發掘人才的慧眼。最出色的高管招募是哪一位？泰溫·蘭尼斯特。他提名自己的兒子提利昂為代理御前首相。
Tyrion runs King's Landing like a turnaround expert. He is a master of radical adaptation, particularly in his creative deployment of wildfire. A previously shuttered R&D program, wildfire is a tactical nuke crossed with a Zippo lighter. Tyrion spots an opportunity for a new product launch. The result: a disruptive innovation that largely destroys his enemy's fleet.
提利昂管理起君臨城(King's Landing)來就像是一位扭轉乾坤的專家。他大刀闊斧地革故鼎新，特別是創造性地運用了希臘火。希臘火這個曾經被擱置的研發項目，加上一個Zippo打火機，堪比戰術核武器。提利昂發現了一個推出新產品的機會。結果：一項顛覆性的創新基本上摧毀了敵方艦隊。
