[分享]從電影300中可學到什麼商業知識

[Yimmiwan]

我想不少朋友可能已經有看過電影“300壯士:斯巴達的逆襲”.在這邊跟大家分享一篇出自於Entrepreneurs.com的文章,其中討論其電影情節中可以學到什麼商業上的道理.還蠻有意思.小弟不自量力簡單的把文章翻譯,若有錯誤或不當之處還請指教.

文章出處
http://www.entrepreneur.com/management/ ... 76006.html
作者: Geoff Williams
刊登於 3/19/2007

想多了解一些“300壯士:斯巴達的逆襲”與其背景,請參考
http://zh.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?tit ... iant=zh-tw

http://zh.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?tit ... iant=zh-tw

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When the movie 300 recently debuted, making more than $70 million during its opening weekend despite having no big-name actors; Hollywood was stunned. Many people have speculated that what attracted the audience was the over-the-top violence, the naked women and the special effects.
當電影“300壯士:斯巴達的逆襲”在其首週上映創下七千多萬美金門票收入時,好萊塢震驚了.許多人猜測電影吸引人潮的原因不外乎血腥暴力,裸女,和特效.

Maybe that helped – a little. But director Zack Snyder’s film about Spartans bludgeoning Persian soldiers in a fight to the finish is also a business parable.
或許這些都有一小點幫助.但導演Zack Snyder描寫關於斯巴達人對抗波斯軍隊直到最後一刻的電影同時也是個商業教材.

No seriously. If you squint a little – and you probably will during some of the beheading scenes – the story resembles what an entrepreneur often faces when competing again a big corporation. It also offers some insight into what it takes to be an effective leader, inspire employees and create a recognizable brand. And, yes, this film can be ugly, but that’s sometimes the nature of the business world.
不要懷疑.如果你稍微換個角度看一下,電影劇情其實跟一個創業人士時常面對大型公司的情形類似.劇情也提供一些如合成為一個有效的領導者,激勵員工,和品牌認知的內幕.這部電影或許血腥,但卻是商場上而見的寫照.

Business Lesson No. 1: Your CEO needs to be a strong leader.
King Leonidas is as resilient as they come, in both the film and the actual historical battle that took place in 480 B.C. between 300 soldiers of Sparta, Greece and the Persian army. Although Leonidas is a warrior, he treats his family and friends as equals. His wife, the queen, is a partner, and he’s smart enough to solicit her advice when it comes to business matters. He also spends quality time with his six-year-old son, teaching him the business (i.e., showing the little bugger how to fight).
第一課: 執行長必須是強而有力的領導者
列奧尼達一世是個有彈性的人,不管在電影中或真實歷史上發生在西元480年前300個斯巴達人與波斯人的一戰中.雖然列奧尼達一世是個戰士,他對他的家人和朋友一視同仁.他的妻子,歌果皇后,是他的夥伴,也是他會徵詢生意上建議的對象.同時他也花很多時間跟他六歲的兒子在一起,教導他生意上的道理.(像是教他如何打仗/打架)

But when Leonidas suits up and goes to his day job – vanquishing bloodthirsty enemies with his spear and shield – he’s focused on what’s best for the business and his employees; in this case, the kingdom and his soldiers.
但當他穿起他的盔甲上工時-用他的矛與盾牌消滅敵人-他專注在對他生意和員工,也就是他的國家和戰士,最好的事情上面.

Sure his competitor, King Xerxes, through messengers he sends to Sparta, makes some powerful arguments for combining the smaller organization with the larger corporation known as Persia. For instance, if the merger goes through, Leonidas would be allowed to live, and his employees wouldn’t have to see their families enslaved or worry about getting their limbs hacked off. But while Leonidas appears to mull the offer over, he’s concerned that his people’s way of life (think office culture) and his freedom to make independent decisions won’t be allowed to thrive.
當然他的競爭對手,薛西斯一世,透過他的代表向斯巴達陳述一些強而有力的說辭來說服其小公司跟波斯這樣的大公司合併.譬如說,如果合併成功,列奧尼達將可存活下去,而他的員工也不會見到其家人成為奴隸或自己失去生命的情形.在列奧尼達深思這些條件時,他所擔心的是他的國民所將面對的生活(想像公司文化),還有他可以自由做主的決定都將不會存在.

He firmly declines the deal by spearing and then throwing a bunch of Persian yes-men into what appears to be a bottomless pit.
列奧尼達以強烈的行動拒絕這項合約,包括以丟進一個深不見底洞穴來處決一堆向波斯親好的人.

Leonidas next prepares to stop the growing threat of a hostile takeover. He seeks approval fro some grotesque oracles (his board of directors) to take 10,000 Sparta soldiers to fight off the Persian army, but he is rebuffed. And so, like all good entrepreneurs, Leonidas finds a loophole. He informs fellow Spartan colleagues that he’s taking a walk, bringing 300 of his top-flight employees as body guards, and goes off to complete his business plan – to fight the Persians at the narrow cliffs of Thermopylae and frighten the immense army into fleeing.
列奧尼達的下一步為阻止強行併購繼續發展的威脅.他向先知們(公司的董事會)要求帶領一萬名斯巴達戰士去阻止波斯軍隊的計畫被拒絕.於是向所有好的創業人一樣,列奧尼達找到一個漏洞.他向斯巴達人民表示,他將帶領他下面最好的三百個戰士們出外打獵,而實際上是去實行他的商業計畫-在溫泉關(Thermopylae)的峽谷上用殘酷的手段嚇退波斯軍隊.

Business Lesson No. 2: Train your employees and foster a culture that promotes loyalty.
The Spartans had a grim but effective process for making sure their society only contained healthy children (if you don’t already know what that process was, you probably don’t want to). To put it mildly, their organization only accepted the best and brightest employees, who were trained and molded into effective killing machines. It sounds gruesome, but it’s handy when your business involves protecting your community from a foe that aims to crush you.
第二課: 訓練你的員工並培養忠誠的文化
斯巴達人有一套嚴酷但有效的方式來確定他們的社會中只有見健康的小孩(如果你還不知道那是什麼方式你大概也不會想知道).簡單來說,他們的社會只接受最好和最聰明的員工,在訓練和塑造中成為一個有效率的殺人者.聽起來或許嚇人,但當你的生意包括保護你的家園遠離一個隨時想摧毀你的敵人時,這方式卻是很有用的.

Arguably, loyally may be the most important aspect of a successful team. At one point in the battle, Leonidas and Xerxes meet up. The Persian ruler tries to reason with his foe, asking how Leonidas can possibly defeat him when “I would kill any of my men for victory.”
無可爭議地,忠誠或許是一個成功團體中最重要的因素.在戰鬥中的一刻,當列奧尼達與薛西斯面對面時,這位波斯國王在試著勸退他的競爭對手時告訴他在“為了勝利我會殺了任何一個我的屬下”的情況下列奧尼達怎麼可能贏他.

“I would die for any of them,” replies Leonidas, suggesting that an employee who knows he’s valued is going to fight harder for the company’s survival than a miserable grunt in the firm. The king has a point His 300 men are effective at killing what must be thousands of soldiers in the first few hours of the battle. And it’s not that surprising. Xerxes literally walks all over his employees, but in Leonidas’ enterprise, his staff takes ownership and pride in the company and has a stake in the firm.
列奧尼達的回答“我會為任何一個我的屬下而死”點出到當一個員工知道他的價值時他將會更為公司的生存賣命,而不是一個只會發聲的人.列奧尼答這樣講是有道理的.他的300個戰士在戰役的頭幾個鐘頭殺了至少幾千個波斯士兵,但並不令人驚訝的,薛西斯幾乎不顧一視的跨過他員工的屍體.但在列奧尼達的企業裡,他的手下也是一部分擁有者,其生死跟公司存亡有關.

Business Lesson No. 3: You need to have a strong brand.
Leonidas is no fool. He knows that his 300 men and several hundred more Athenian soldiers who tag along can’t completely destroy the Persian army, which outnumbers the Spartan force at least 1,000 to one. But he figures that if the Spartans live up to their reputation by ruthlessly and efficiently killing the Persians, the enemy might flee. In other words, Leonidas saw the Spartans as a brand.
第三課: 強而有力的品牌是必須的
列奧尼達並不是一個笨蛋.他知道他的300位戰士與幾百位跟隨的雅典士兵不可能殲滅所有的波斯軍隊,其人數比對斯巴達軍為一千比一.但他知道如果斯巴達軍可以實踐他們殺人不眨眼的名號,敵人可能會逃走.換句話說,列奧尼達把斯巴達看成一個品牌.

Leonidas is an early marketer, fully understanding the power of words and images. When Leonidas and his men literally build a wall of corpses they know their enemy will see, it’s an advertising message to the rest of the Persian soldiers that come their way The Spartan are a company of men you don’t want to encounter. They clearly hope he message will spread by word mouth.
列奧尼達是一個早期的行銷者,很清楚的了解文字與圖案的力量.當列奧尼達和他的戰士們用敵人的屍體堆成一座牆時給敵人看時,他們傳達了一個訊息給其他波斯士兵,巴達人並不是你們想要碰頭的對手.列奧尼達希望這樣的訊息會以口傳口的方式傳佈出去.

Later, the Spartan CEO tells his competitor, Xerxes, “the world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many, and before this battle was over, that even a god-king can bleed. “And because Leonidas recognizes how important it is for the general public to understand the Spartans’ unique brand of power and will, he sends a messenger back to Sparta to tell the tale of their fight. Leonidas appreciates that even if he and his 300 men don’t win this particular battle, educating the public about the company will help the Spartan brand endure long after he is gone.
晚些時候,這位斯巴達的執行長告訴他的競爭對手,薛西斯, “整個世界都會知道少數的自由之士向一個統治者的大軍挑戰,而在這場戰役結束前,會發現原來向神一般的國王也是會流血的”.因為列奧尼達察覺到讓一般大眾了解斯巴達這個品牌特殊的力量和意志力是多麼的重要,他還派了一個報訊員回到斯巴達以告訴這場戰役.列奧尼達知道就算他和他手下的300位戰士最後仍在這場戰役失利,社會大眾在經過教導後能讓斯巴達這個品牌在失去他後繼續維持下去.

The brand, in fact, has endured so well that almost 2,500 years later Hollywood made a movie about this battle. If you haven’t seen 300 yet, be sure to study these lessons and then go see them put to use in the movie. Do that and you may suck all the joy out of watching a blockbuster action movie – but you’ll wind up with one heck of a business.
這個品牌維持的好到連在兩千五百前後好萊塢還為這個戰役拍了一部電影.如果你還沒有看“300壯士:斯巴達的逆襲”,研讀這三課後看在電影中是如何被運用.這樣做或許你會失去看一個大場面的動作片,但你會贏得一個成功的企業.