The first season of ‘House of the Dragon’ (‘HOT D’) has already come to an end, and I, not finding the time to get past episode 2, am left with no choice but to desperately dodge spoilers on a daily basis. Quite exhausting, I must say. However, it’s not as nearly exhausting as running a start-up. You probably may be asking yourself right now what these two matters have to do with each other. Oh, they do.
George R.R. Martin, the author of ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’, has been discussing with his readers what good leadership is throughout his eight-book (and counting) masterpiece. His conclusions may appear to have implications on politics alone, but actually, these can be projected over all types of leadership – as well as business management.
I am Ofir Bar, a veteran investor with a special interest in entrepreneurship and innovation. As I see it, many entrepreneurs, being so focused on their passion to succeed, forget that employee management is as important to a business as other essential aspects of it. In this post, I’ll summarize some of Martin’s lines of thought about good leadership, using some of the ideas embedded in his writings. Note that if you haven’t watched ‘Game of Thrones’ yet – this post contains spoilers!
Roasting only as a last resort: Daenerys Targaryen
Disregarding how the Game of Thrones TV series ended (she goes berserk and becomes a tyrant), Daenerys Targaryen sets an example for a leader who doesn’t need to terrorize or manipulate people so they’ll act on her command and follow her. Instead, she tries to earn their respect and trust so they would willingly go after her – and she does that well.
Daenerys is a descendant of the royal dynasty and the youngest daughter of the last Targaryen king. When a coup occurs and her father is overthrown and killed, Daenerys, a baby back then, is smuggled to safety. She grows up on a distant continent, where people don’t know her, and she has no political influence. As she comes of age, she sets herself a goal to retake her father’s seat – but she has no friends, no army, and no dragons. Eventually, she gets all three, but I’d like to specify one specific event that proves what she’s made of.
As a young leader, Daenerys travels to a city maintained by slaves, accompanied by a small group of followers and her three baby dragons. She pretends to come to exchange one of her dragons for a massive army of slave soldiers. Once the deal is sealed, Daenerys orders her soldiers to kill all slavers at the moment. The stunned slave master screams at his (former) soldiers to kill Daenerys, but they completely ignore him. At her order, Daenerys’ dragon burns the slave master alive, while her recruits are watching.
When the killing is over, she preaches to the soldiers, stating that they are now free men, free to go wherever they want. Together with that, she promises those who’ll fight for her a new home, her dead father’s kingdom, where they can have a fresh start in their lives. The slave soldiers unanimously decide to side with her.
What can we understand from this? Daenerys proved to her new recruits she can get things done, so when she promises something, they believe her. She knew that when people feel they choose their own path, they are more likely to do a good job, and be loyal to the organization in which they operate. A manager should not control his subjects with fear, but with charisma, always setting a good example.
Prepare some adhesive bandages: The Iron Throne
The Iron Throne may be an inanimate object, yet it still can teach us a thing or two. It was created by the first Targaryen king, who took a thousand of his fallen enemies’ swords and welded them together using dragon fire. Sounds somewhat inconvenient to sit on, right? Well, he was well aware of that – and he did it anyway. As it turns out, he wanted to pass a message to all the kings who’ll come after him.
At the beginning of ‘HOT D’, the king on the throne is Viserys Targaryen. As can be easily understood, Viserys has a kind heart, but his rule is weak, and the kingdom crumbles under it. His brother, the police commander, disobeys his orders and regularly disrespects him. He lets his court politicians manipulate him, and he does nothing about the constant pirate raids on his coasts, badly harming the economy.
Viserys also seems to also cut himself sitting on the throne quite often, and that doesn’t seem to be arbitrary. Some kings, known for the prosperity that resided in the kingdom during their reign, somehow weren’t harmed by the throne. Other kings, vile or corrupt ones, were not so lucky. It was told that the brutal king Aerys II, Daenerys’ father, used to cut himself so often that “men took to calling him ‘King Scab’”. King Maegor, the evilest of all, died from merely sitting on the throne. Some say he was killed by the throne itself, as if it rejects unworthy kings.
Good leadership requires not only a set of good characteristics – but also a balance between them. Good people don’t necessarily make good leaders. A good leader has to know when to be strict, and when to be softer. They should know when to delegate authority, and when to do things by themselves. Misuse of power, too much or too little of it, is likely to bring you down at some point. The lesson that the first king wanted to pass on was – a true leader should never sit comfortably on his seat.
The three pillars
Maimonides, A famous Jewish philosopher, once detailed the three characteristics that, in his opinion, are necessary to make a good leader: wisdom, ethicality, and imagination. He claimed that a good leader must excel at all three, and also learn to balance them. I tend to agree.
Allow me to give you some of my input: The three fundamental pillars of a successful business are a brilliant product (or idea), sufficient funds, and good employee management. Failing to deliver in any of the three will bring the whole business down.
By the way – Don’t worry, I’m not planning a career retraining. More posts about real estate and innovation are yet to come!
