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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.
所有肩负重任、在残酷的商海竞争中浮沉的经理人们，请注意了。成功秘诀就藏在HBO的奇幻题材连续剧《权力的游戏》（Game of Thrones）中：在这部电视剧中，一个人要么获胜，要么只能倒在长枪下。
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，这部根据乔治·马丁的奇幻小说《冰与火之歌》（A Song of Ice and Fire）改编的电视剧迎来了第三季的首播。在此，不妨让我们来看看剧中的敌我对手、权力掮客和阴谋家们。职业经理人能从这些奇幻的部族争斗中学到些什么？太多了。我们可以从他们的磨难中学到下述5条领导经验：
Spoiler alert: For the Johnny-come-latelies who haven't finished season two, you have been warned.
剧透警告：如果你还没有看完第二季，请慎看。
Determine which promises you can't afford to break
确定哪些承诺必须恪守
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.
承诺在一个混乱的世界中很重要。这事只要问问“弑君者”詹姆·兰尼斯特。这家伙在“日落国度”维斯特洛(Westeros)的离职面谈最不堪。詹姆刚刚还信誓旦旦地要保护坦格利安最后一位国王，话音未落,他就从背后捅了自己的老板一刀。事实就是这样。当然，那位CEO是一个人人难以忍受的疯子。但诚实的名声一旦受到玷污，便很难修复。
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.
和现实生活中一样，在《权力的游戏》中通过发誓可以建立战略责任。例如，罗伯·斯塔克在整个第二季中都高度依赖契约联盟，特别是酷似埃比尼泽·斯克鲁奇的沃尔德·弗瑞公爵。弗瑞控制着北方罗伯王国与南境雄兵之间唯一的土地连接地带，可以随时切断罗伯的供应线。弗瑞承诺可以不这么干，唯一的条件是罗伯答应与他的女儿结婚。第二季结束时，罗伯违反了契约，爱上了维斯特林家族的简妮·维斯特林，还和她结了婚。弗瑞公爵自然不高兴。所以，违反一项契约前，要确定你能承受违约的代价。
Protect your strongest assets
保护最宝贵的资产
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.
每个新贵都需要资本。虽然流亡皇后丹妮莉丝·坦格利安最终可能是权力游戏的赢家，但在第二季她就像是一个捉襟见肘的企业家。由于她的龙群需要很长的时间长大——现在的它们就像复活节火腿那么大——还需要有几季，它们才能成为生力军，引来投资。因此，这位王后艰难地试图从Qarth的商人之王那里筹集无担保贷款。这群狡猾的家伙没有欣然接受龙之母的电梯推销，或许情有可原。一群参差不齐的追随者，渺茫的复辟希望，语焉不详的商业计划，这些都难以让风险投资人感兴趣。
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.
尽管丹妮莉丝在谈判中处于弱势，但她还是努力避免了陷于不利境地。第二季结束时，她已经成功穿过了Qarth的蝰蛇洞——最毒的蝰蛇就是那个曾许以她巨大财富、希望娶她的男人。《权力的游戏》描绘的王朝世界中，婚姻就是合并。除了龙群，单身是丹妮莉丝最宝贵的资产，就是不轻易许人。这种谨慎得到了回报。丹妮莉丝发现，这位虚伪的追求者金库里空空如也。这时，她懂得了严格审查一位潜在合伙人资产负债表的重要性。
Cultivate middle management
培养中层管理者
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不可能无时不刻都在。在一个没有视频会议、依赖飞鸽传信(可靠性之高令人惊异)的世界中，很难时刻盯牢自己的投资。解决方案就是授权。
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.
七大王国中最好的领导者具有发掘人才的慧眼。最出色的高管招募是哪一位？泰温·兰尼斯特。他提名自己的儿子提利昂为代理御前首相。
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.
提利昂管理起君临城(King's Landing)来就像是一位扭转乾坤的专家。他大刀阔斧地革故鼎新，特别是创造性地运用了希腊火。希腊火这个曾经被搁置的研发项目，加上一个Zippo打火机，堪比战术核武器。提利昂发现了一个推出新产品的机会。结果：一项颠覆性的创新基本上摧毁了敌方舰队。
