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To business leaders, aggressive moves may appear to be strategically counterintuitive during an economic downturn such as the world is currently experiencing. However, firms that invest in new technologies will not only position themselves for explosive growth when macroeconomic conditions improve but will also lead the recovery by setting higher standards for productivity.

In industries that use heavy equipment, such as highway construction, companies have the opportunity to acquire new machine-control and telematics technologies, and position themselves for growth and market dominance once the recession ends.

A popular topic of discussion during the current global economic downturn has been how companies in all industries should behave in times like these.

Experts say that business leaders should adopt the same contrarian approach as wise stock investors: rather than delay capital spending, they should take advantage of a rare growth opportunity. The opportunity exists because most others have fallen victim to irrational fears and are conserving funds.

Ray O'Connor, president and CEO of Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS), rates as a contrarian who does not follow the crowd. His company acquired Sokkia Co. Ltd. in February 2008 - several months after the U.S. economy had sunk into the current deep, prolonged recession - to form the world's largest leading supplier of surveying equipment. The transaction grew the largest division of Topcon, which happens to operate in an economic sector hit particularly hard by the downturn.