Upheaval in the market place can be an opportune time for organizations to move ahead of competitors if they recognize significant opportunities and have the ability to act based on low fixed costs, cash reserves, and an ability to shift resources from unproductive business units to more promising lines of business. Forget about concepts of being agile, and being able to weather the storm business is made based on relationships and doing whatever is most likely to lead to a sale. Companies most likely to survive an economic downturn, and perhaps improve their market position have:1. Low fixed costs
2. Substantial cash reserves
3. Diverse cash flow
4. Ability to decrease size of organization
5. Tangible resources
6. Brand, expertise or technology resources/advantages
7. Customer partially locked by high switching costs
8. Protected core market
9. Significant patron (a powerful government sponsor or investor)
10. Staff reduction in difficult times