《权力的游戏》蕴含的管理经

光是正确还不够

    这就是内德•斯塔克规则。荣誉、宽容和公平不会保护你免受对手伤害。虽然内德在第一季中是最受欢迎的人物之一，但他作为罗伯特•拜拉席恩的御前首相却是一个巨大的失败。他太专注于机构合法性。他期待其他人将自己的利益放在一边，遵照先例。结果，他死了，他的家人也几乎被赶尽杀绝。正如史坦尼斯•拜拉席恩认识到的那样，如果缺乏必要的资源提供支持，“正确”就什么也不是。

    但光凭武力也不够。乔弗里国王坐在铁王座上有能力实施自己的统治，但他作为领导人的合法性受到质疑。部分原因在于，他的父母亲不明，但更近一步的原因则是因为他是一个白痴暴君，公开鄙视国民。所以，乔弗里和他的国家被饥饿的暴民推翻正是因果报应。

    宝剑锋芒固然能让一些人恭顺，但一位领导人必须建立为大多数人利益服务的形象。这就是为什么蓝礼•拜拉席恩会受到欢迎，为什么像丹妮莉丝这样的公仆领导最后能登上权力巅峰。如果权力的运用谨慎、有节制，权力能增强其合法性；如果权力不受约束，就会导致倾覆。如何平衡权力是赢得权力游戏的真正秘诀，不管是在维斯特洛，还是其他地方。（财富中文网）

    译者：杨智

Being right is not enough

    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.

    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.

    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.