The wild ride continues. Brilliant economists banter about the chicken and the egg with regard to consumer confidence and economic growth; authors write about the “new business as usual;” and anecdotal evidence suggests that a third of private companies are doing well, a third are stable and a third continue to deal with considerable challenge. I’ll leave the prognostication to those who are smarter than I am.

No matter which way the winds blow, I am certain of this; you must bring energy, enthusiasm and discipline to the things you can control, and avoid loosing sleep over those you cannot. Stay focused and disciplined. Communicate times 10 with your customers, stakeholders and employees. Develop a true meeting of the minds as to your mutual expectations. Delivering true value is a two-way street.

Strengthen your long-term vision, but also focus your resources. We are entering some very taxing times, quite literally. Federal, state and many other taxes will rise, making proactive tax planning an even more critical part of your economic model.

And for goodness sake, don’t waste a good recession when it comes to making tough decisions.