There is a connection between Aikido and strategy that runs deeper than we might expect -with implications that go far beyond the mere execution of a technique.

Recently, during a corporate training session, a framework developed by McKinsey & Company was mentioned: the “Ten Timeless Tests of Strategy”. These ten strategic questions aim to assess the solidity of a strategy.

There’s nothing more complex than crafting a strategy. Everyone would love to make decisions along a path that guarantees results, low risks -or no risks at all. But experience shows us this is unrealistic- in companies, as well as in personal choices. Still, there are tools that help ground a strategy in reality. These tools might not lead to the achievement of every goal, but they can make it possible to reach a meaningful and satisfying level of success.

So we played a game: we tried applying these tests to the practice of Aikido. After all, like any martial art, Aikido is a continuous exercise in strategy, even before it becomes a physical expression of it.

By its nature, any strategy requires constant attention, intuition, presence, yielding, decisiveness, adaptability, and connection. These are the same qualities that create a condition of what we often call harmony -a word sometimes overused in our discipline. But here we mean a kind of dynamic harmony, something that strategy builds and rebuilds, action after action, exchange after exchange.

Let’s look at the ten tests from this perspective:

Will you beat the market?

Aikido offers a very different sense of competition. It seeks growth, not victory. What we aim to overcome is chaos -everything that threatens our center, grounding, and stability. Just like in the market, we only win if we are available to risk everything, including our balance.

Do you have a true source of advantage?

In business, competitive advantage is something personal. In Aikido, technique is co-created. We grow through collaborative dynamics, not opposition.

Are you clear about where to act?

Every encounter is unique. Collaboration demands clarity of roles and intentions, and a deep listening ability, both when receiving and triggering the attack.

Can you anticipate trends?

In business you must move ahead of the market. Aikido trains the body, sculpts technique, but above all, develops increasing perception skills. Perceiving intent before action is the true goal of training.

Do you have privileged insights?

Strategic insights based on exclusive data or knowledge provide a powerful edge in business. Reducing Aikido to technique alone confines it to mere performance. But Aikido is so much more: it’s relationship, presence, awareness, and yes –culture.

Do you embrace uncertainty?

Randori and jiyu waza are privileged spaces for breaking the certainty that habits build in daily practice. Even just stepping into a different dojo or attending a seminar from another school can introduce radical uncertainty. Embracing it makes the difference between growth and stagnation in a golden shell.

How do you relate to commitment and flexibility?

Learning takes commitment -no doubt. Devotion to form builds a structure for recognition and understanding. But commitment alone isn’t enough; sometimes it isolates more than it supports. Especially in the hyper-scheduled lives of many, even young people. We need to adapt to the many shades of reality that make the form alive -and accept the frustration of not always getting where we thought we could go.

Can you avoid cognitive bias?

You could write a whole book on this. In any field, it’s easy to over- or underestimate our strengths and weaknesses. Over-optimism and its opposite are both risky. Aikido works on restructuring the self and progressively removing ego-driven tendencies, but paradoxically, highly technical practice can lead to the opposite effect.

Do you have the conviction to act?

Results come only through execution, through putting strategy into motion. Physical practice, repetition, and consistency are the ingredients for change -something many people long for but few truly commit to.

Can you translate it into action?

Every keiko is training in transforming intention into action. An action that must go beyond the tatami, gradually and steadily improving the person.

Aikido and strategy are deeply connected -to the point that the principles behind martial arts and business strategy often overlap at their very foundation.

Disclaimer: Picture from Pixabay