A lot of businesspeople seem to be frozen in the headlights, paralyzed by uncertainty, fear of failure, and lack of trust. In this economy, inaction is understandable but shortsighted. Those who face their fear and get unstuck can outrun hesitant competitors and seize advantage. In studying how leaders prevail in uncertain times, we’ve observed four practices you can use to get yourself, your people, and your firm moving again.

A version of this article appeared in the May 2009 issue of Harvard Business Review.