Game of Thrones Business Lessons: Arya Stark, the Ability to Bounce Back
The first installment of a series by Evercontact founder Philippe Laval, as originally appeared in LesEchos.fr.
Arya Stark, the Game of Thrones character played by Maisie Williams, is a symbol of learning and resilience. If Games of Thrones was a business, Arya would be a perfect example for the Workflow Manager. Arya has not had an easy life, but is always able to bounce back. Exiled, chased, beaten, she survives by adapting and continuously reinventing herself. Here are some tips to survive change.
Arya Stark, the youngest daughter of Lord Eddard Stark and Lady Catelyn Tully, is the epitome of resilience in the Game of Thrones series. From a noble family, brought up in luxury, she was not predestined to trouble. Yet we see Arya train continuously in fencing, first with a young apprentice butcher, then with Syrio Forel, former first sword of the lord of Braavos. Throughout the first five seasons of Game of Thrones, Arya evolves, even accepting temporary blindness to continue learning, and thus develop and control her destiny. She is a character the opposite of King Robert, who rests on his laurels and dies very quickly.
Arya’s message is clear: if you stop evolving, you die. Being prepared is what differentiates Arya Stark and Robert Baratheon. And in Game of Thrones, this can be the difference between life and death. A bit like in the business world where being prepared is of the utmost importance to survival.
“ Do you know who I am? I cannot hear you. You know who I am? Arya Stark. Do you know who you are? No one…”
Arya Stark to Meryn Trant, just before slaughtering him Game of Thrones Season 5, episode 10.
How do you prepare for the unexpected? By continuing to develop your talents and abilities. Do not aim to be the best, just try to be better. Think of the humble manager as Jon Snow, humility allows you to continue to learn. It is striking that the people we tend to regard as brilliant or outstanding have an opinion of themselves that is not only critical but very often completely different from ours. Like Arya Stark, their motto is “I am constantly improving” and that makes them virtually indestructible. Any difficulty is an opportunity to learn. Their goal is not to beat others or to impress them. Their goal is to surpass themselves.
But, specifically, how can you become indestructible in tough times and achieve the agility that you need? Here are four tips to cultivate resilience.
1) Don’t compare yourself to other people, compare yourself to your past self.
Have you progressed? What can you do today that you did not do yesterday? Last year, you got really stressed speaking in public and now you do it easily? Congratulations!
2) Think in terms of growth, not in absolute terms.
For example, do not say. “I want to be the best entrepreneur” but “I want to learn my business as much as possible and develop my management and commercial skills. “
3) Do not hesitate to ask for help.
Recognize that you won’t immediately know the best way to learn.
4) Give yourself permission to not be perfect.
This is the most important. You have to admit that you cannot do everything today in order to do better tomorrow. If you never fail, it is likely that what you do is not challenging enough.
About The Author
Philippe Laval is the founder and CEO of Evercontact . He just published “Winter is NOT coming” (in French) via First Editions.
We hope you enjoyed this post from our founder, whether you are a fan of the series or not. Please feel free to share your thoughts below!