《权力的游戏》蕴含的管理经

培养中层管理者

    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。

    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。

    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。

    但如何才能留住一流人才，特别是面临竞争对手暗地挖角的时候？提供有竞争力的薪酬只是一部分。就提利昂而言，他完全归属于兰尼斯特这一家族企业，他的命运起伏系于管理好坏。

    一旦微妙的利益平衡被打破，领导者们会面临委托人-代理人矛盾：雄心勃勃的雇工可能最终将自己的利益凌驾于雇主之上。第二季中，罗伯•斯塔克信赖与席恩•葛雷乔伊的个人关系，后者曾冒险跑到铁群岛去招募亲戚，协助罗伯的北方之国。但经过一番痛苦的挣扎，席恩变节，引入敌军，侵吞了罗伯的资产。

外部雇人要谨慎

    最好的管理者是从内部提拔上来的。他们了解所处的环境和人员。罗伯•斯塔克就是一个典型。他通过个人魅力、铁腕手段以及嘉许肯定，驯服了不听话的董事会成员。斯塔克对组织成员了如指掌，因此，他的洽商式领导才成为可能。

    与之形成对比的是席恩•葛雷乔伊。这位斯塔克阵营的叛逃者受雇成为派克(Pyke)的一位低级官员，被底下人嘲笑为外来户。因此，席恩的政策不是着眼于长期战略考虑，而是更注重如何建立团队的声誉。陷入这样的组织狭隘，导致他残忍地处决了一位老朋友罗德利克•凯索，(假)称他杀害了同奶兄弟布莱恩和瑞肯。席恩虽然吸引了媒体的关注，但却无法获得市场份额。这样不会让股东满意——而在维斯特洛，并没有金色降落伞这样的东西。

Cultivate middle management

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

Be wary of external hires

    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.

    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.