Martial artists have spent thou­sands of years discovering special skills that enable them to respond to life's challenges quickly and with maximum efficiency. Aikido, which in Japanese means "the way of uniting Ki spirit," is an art that does just that, and my own Aikido practice has given me much practical counsel. Some of my most vivid lessons were from the first day I participated in randori--an exercise where, instead of defending against just one part­ner, several people attack at once. Busi­ness complexity often arises from a sim­ilar spirited interaction of many players with independent motives.

1. Keep your center: In Aikido, your cen­ter (or hara) is a physical place where en­ergy and balance originate. It's also a state of mind. Staying calm, one avoids over-confidence, anger, and fear -- those de­stroyers of intelligence. Keeping your cen­ter means you will always act from the po­sition of your greatest power.

2. Start in a logical place: Complex situa­tions, like randori, throw lots of things at you simultaneously. Like many people, my natural instinct was to react first to the nearest danger. I call this the LIFO (last-in, first-out) reaction to complexity. LIFO people react to stress by abandon­ing important objectives for whatever threat lands in their lap next. However, this reaction allows opponents to dictate the situation. In randori, a LIFO reaction gets you blown hither and yon, frustrat­ing you and accomplishing little. Randori taught me to start proactively in a thought­ful place -- at one end, regardless of the onslaught's source. In complex situations, picking a logical entry point for action (The highest priority? The task with the longest lead time? The player with the most influence?) puts you in control.