By far the most important aspect of managing in an economic crisis, says Goldman, is to recognize it as an opportunity to roll out new products and prepare for an eventual recovery. "Don't waste a recession," he says. "You can outflank your competitors during tough times when they are deteriorating. Use this time to invest, expand, take share. Hire great people."

Goldman says he has no more idea than anyone else when this current recession will end, but he maintains that "it's a great time to invest in R&D and great sales folks." Developing new customers and new geographic markets during a downturn are "just good investments," he says. "You may not get a big return in tough times, but you will get a humongous return when the market comes back."

Of course, that all comes back to Goldman's Catch-22: companies can't capitalize on current conditions if they were already in bad shape when the recession started. "If you don't have cash," he says, "all bets are off."

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