The rapidly changing nature of today's business world requires that people possess strong leadership expertise that will enable them to handle potential problems with efficiency, intelligence, and diplomacy. As managers and employers rethink out-moded business paradigms in order to keep offices running smoothly, production levels high, and morale up, Leadership Aikido presents innovative skills that answer their urgent needs.          Author and management consultant John O'Neil shows us how the concepts of aikido can be used as a lifelong business practice. Aikido--the martial arts tradition that stresses victory without harm--employs six master practices that enable us to assess and develop our leadership potential. These practices of aikido are: cultivating self-knowledge; practicing the paradoxical art of planning; speaking the language of mastery; letting values drive our decisions; turning failure into success; and heeding the law of unintended consequences. Using these elements of aikido, we are then able to identify and overcome five inner enemies that impede our progress--failure to grow emotionally; failure to make creative decisions; failure to empathize; failure to manage ego; and failure to overcome alienation and boredom.          In his straightforward and thoughtful manner, John O'Neil ensures us that by adopting these practices into our lives, we will benefit both professionally and personally. By embracing the philosophy of aikido and bringing beliefs, perceptions, and actions into harmony, Leadership Aikido will enable us to embark on a path of continual learning, inner personal change, and enlightened leadership that will revolutionize the way we set and achieve our goals.