雙語達人:美劇《權力的遊戲》中蘊含的管理知識

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。成功祕訣就藏在HBO的奇幻題材連續劇《權力的遊戲》（Game of Thrones）中：在這部電視劇中，一個人要麼獲勝，要麼只能倒在長槍下。

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鬥中學到些什麼？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。這傢伙在“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後一位國王，話音未落,他就從背後捅了自己的老闆一刀。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《權力的遊戲》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。弗瑞控制着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。弗瑞承諾可以不這麼幹，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遊戲的贏家，但在第二季她就像是一個捉襟見肘的企業家。由於她的龍羣需要很長的時間長大——現在的它們就像復活節火腿那麼大——還需要有幾季，它們才能成爲生力軍，引來投資。因此，這位王后艱難地試圖從Qarth的商人之王那裏籌集無擔保貸款。這羣狡猾的傢伙沒有欣然接受龍之母的電梯推銷，或許情有可原。一羣參差不齊的追隨者，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.

儘管丹妮莉絲在談判中處於弱勢，但她還是努力避免了陷於不利境地。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。《權力的遊戲》描繪的王朝世界中，婚姻就是合併。除了龍羣，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。丹妮莉絲髮現，這位虛僞的追求者金庫裏空空如也。這時，她懂得了嚴格審查一位潛在合夥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爲代理御前首相。

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。

But how do you hold on to top talent, especially when they're being poached by shifty competitors? Offering competitive compensation is only part of it. In Tyrion's case, he's fully vested in Lannister, Inc., and his fortunes will rise and fall with the management.
但如何才能留住一流人才，特別是面臨競爭對手暗地挖角的時候？提供有競爭力的薪酬只是一部分。就提利昂而言，他完全歸屬於蘭尼斯特這一家族企業，他的命運起伏繫於管理好壞。
When a delicate alignment of interests breaks down, leaders face a principal-agent problem: An ambitious hireling may end up pursuing his own interests over his employer's. In the second season, Robb Stark trusts in his personal relationship with Theon Greyjoy, who ventures off to the Iron Islands to recruit his kin to aid the North. But in a grim pivot, Theon turns his cloak, leading a war party to capture Robb's capital.
一旦微妙的利益平衡被打破，領導者們會面臨委託人-代理人矛盾：雄心勃勃的僱工可能最終將自己的利益凌駕於僱主之上。第二季中，羅伯·斯塔克信賴與席恩·葛雷喬伊的個人關係，後者曾冒險跑到鐵羣島去招募親戚，協助羅伯的北方之國。但經過一番痛苦的掙扎，席恩變節，引入敵軍，侵吞了羅伯的資產。
Be wary of external hires
外部僱人要謹慎
The best executives are promoted from within. They understand their institution and its personalities. Robb Stark is exemplary. He tames recalcitrant board members through a mixture of personal appeal, strong-arming, and ego massage. Intimate knowledge of the Stark organization makes possible Robb's consultative style of leadership.
最好的管理者是從內部提拔上來的。他們瞭解所處的環境和人員。羅伯·斯塔克就是一個典型。他通過個人魅力、鐵腕手段以及嘉許肯定，馴服了不聽話的董事會成員。斯塔克對組織成員瞭如指掌，因此，他的洽商式領導才成爲可能。
By contrast, consider Theon Greyjoy. A job-hopper from the Stark camp hired as a junior executive for Pyke, Theon is derided as an outsider by his men. Consequently, Theon's policies are designed not for long-term strategic purposes, but to earn his team's respect. This slide into institutional insularity leads him to brutally execute an old friend, Rodrik Cassel, and to claim (falsely) to have killed his foster brothers, Bran and Rikkon. Theon grabs headlines but can't secure market share. This does not delight shareholders -- and in Westeros, there's no such thing as a golden parachute.
與之形成對比的是席恩·葛雷喬伊。這位斯塔克陣營的叛逃者受僱成爲派克(Pyke)的一位低級官員，被底下人嘲笑爲外來戶。因此，席恩的政策不是着眼於長期戰略考慮，而是更注重如何建立團隊的聲譽。陷入這樣的組織狹隘，導致他殘忍地處決了一位老朋友羅德利克·凱索，(假)稱他殺害了同奶兄弟布萊恩和瑞肯。席恩雖然吸引了媒體的關注，但卻無法獲得市場份額。這樣不會讓股東滿意——而在維斯特洛，並沒有金色降落傘這樣的東西。
Being right is not enough
光是正確還不夠
This is the Ned Stark Rule. Honor, mercy, and fairness will not protect you against your rivals. Though one of the most popular characters in season one, Ned was a colossal failure as King's Hand to Robert Baratheon. He was too focused on institutional legitimacy. He expected others to put aside their interests and respect precedent. As a result, he ended up dead, with his family endangered. As Stannis Baratheon learns, being "right" means nothing when you lack the resources to back it up.
這就是內德·斯塔克規則。榮譽、寬容和公平不會保護你免受對手傷害。雖然內德在第一季中是最受歡迎的人物之一，但他作爲羅伯特·拜拉席恩的御前首相卻是一個巨大的失敗。他太專注於機構合法性。他期待其他人將自己的利益放在一邊，遵照先例。結果，他死了，他的家人也幾乎被趕盡殺絕。正如史坦尼斯·拜拉席恩認識到的那樣，如果缺乏必要的資源提供支持，“正確”就什麼也不是。
Yet muscle isn't enough either. While King Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne and has the manpower to enforce his rule, his legitimacy as a leader is in question. This is partly due to doubts about his parentage, but the proximate cause is that he's a despotic twit who openly despises his people. When Joffrey & Co. are nearly torn apart by a starving mob, that's karma knocking on the door.
但光憑武力也不夠。喬弗裏國王坐在鐵王座上有能力實施自己的統治，但他作爲領導人的合法性受到質疑。部分原因在於，他的父母親不明，但更近一步的原因則是因爲他是一個白癡暴君，公開鄙視國民。所以，喬弗裏和他的國家被飢餓的暴民推翻正是因果報應。
While a sword may be necessary to force some into line, a leader must be perceived as serving the interests of the majority. That's why Renly Baratheon appealed, and why a servant-leader, like Daenarys, may come out on top. When used in a conservative, thoughtful manner, power enhances legitimacy; when unconstrained, power undermines. Striking that balance is the real secret to winning the game of thrones, in Westeros and elsewhere.
寶劍鋒芒固然能讓一些人恭順，但一位領導人必須建立爲大多數人利益服務的形象。這就是爲什麼藍禮·拜拉席恩會受到歡迎，爲什麼像丹妮莉絲這樣的公僕領導最後能登上權力巔峯。如果權力的運用謹慎、有節制，權力能增強其合法性；如果權力不受約束，就會導致傾覆。如何平衡權力是贏得權力遊戲的真正祕訣，不管是在維斯特洛，還是其他地方。