Here's a great outtake from a Harvard Business Review article on offensive and defensive strategies.  Do you have what it takes to invest and grow in this market? How do you steer the ship with fear all around? Who is there to be your co-pilot? This is when a great business leader, consultant, coach really earns his keep. I suggest buying the article

"What strategies can companies use to survive
a recession so that they’ll thrive
when it ends? A yearlong study suggests
that enterprises that cut costs by focusing
on operating efficiency even as they spend
more than rivals on marketing, R&D, and assets
are likely to be postrecession winners.
Companies that only cut costs heavily
during a downturn don’t flourish after it
ends. Neither do the few businesses that
only invest more than rivals during a recession.
Even companies that were doing well
beforehand don’t retain their momentum—
85% of market leaders get dislodged
during a recession.

Cutting costs while making investments
isn’t easy. CEOs must be disciplined about
costs and learn to spot investment opportunities
that offer reliable returns in reasonable
payback periods. If they get the mix
right, it helps them tackle short-run problems
and create a successful medium-term
strategy."

I read a very cool article from Inc Magazine about how overcommunication can waste time and productivity This idea runs counter to the the conventional wisdom from "collaborative" businesses, especially start ups and tech businesses.

From my experience at AOL, I was scheduled on so many calls where everyone wanted each person to feel involved and part of the process that work didn't get done. it felt like elementary school when people were busy web surfing, IMing, checking their stocks etc. You could tell when people unmuted and felt lost when they were asked a question. Finally I told my boss that I REFUSED to participate in this silliness that was meant to make the lower level people feel important.

This was a summary of our conversation:

MF: "You bought my company to grow AOL's business, right?

AOL Boss: "Yes, you guys are key to our success in the growing games and entertainment ad market."

MF: "Great. I am very committed to deliver maximum value to the company and it's hard for me to any productive work when I'm on calls about a host of topics not relevant to us growing our business"

AOL Boss: "OK, what do you suggest?"

MF: "I will be on our weekly report call and the call with your boss. If ever you need me, just ping me on AIM (AOLs instant messenger that the whole company was always on) and I'll hop on the call. Does that sound like a good solution?

AOL Boss: "Yes, sounds good?"

Bottom line, I was able to focus on building our business that was important for GameDaily's position in AOL and our legacy.

Cross-functional or Dysfunctional? On every project, one person should be in charge of the flow of communication. You want the decision-making process to look like Figure A — not Figure B.