The president of the National Bureau of Economic Research stopped many cold in mid-March when he said the United States has slipped into a deep recession that could be the most serious since World War II. But if you attended the National Business Travel Association's Financial Forum a few days later, you would have heard a different story. An executive from the economic analysis firm Global Insight predicted that the recession will be very mild - only lasting two quarters.

After months of debate, most economists now agree that we are in fact in a recession. (Of course, we won't know for sure until after the fact: A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of economic decline.) But there's a wide range of predictions about the strength and length of this particular downturn. All of which begs the question: How to proceed? Do we focus on our recent successes, assuming that the "worst" - which won't even be that bad - will be over before we know it? Or do we hunker down, expecting the most wrenching economic period in generations?

We'd all like to think that any economic downturn will be short-lived, but adopting the opposite mindset is really the better approach. I'm not advocating a bunker mentality. But knowing that we may face significant economic challenges forces us to better ourselves. It helps us to stay focused on our core objectives, look for innovations that will enable us to stand out, and build relationships that will assist us down the road. It means investing (both literally and figuratively) in our employees, attendees, exhibitors, customers, and any stakeholders whose support and participation are crucial to our success.

In fact, it's a way of doing business that makes a lot of sense regardless of the current economic climate. We should always be working to invest in our future (even if more figuratively than literally at times), knowing that the economy may work for or against us at any time.

Economic concerns were certainly top of mind for the CVB executives who responded to our e-mail asking them to share their No. 1 challenge for our destination marketing focus in this issue (cover story, p. 30, and sidebar on right). Their issues and concerns underscore the need for constant education and advocacy even when times are good and no one is asking questions.

The same holds true for meeting professionals, who may lament poor attendance and exhibitor participation when the economy is down. But they need to ask themselves if they did all they could for their attendees and partners when times were good. Going the extra mile to create new and positive experiences, helping all participants get a strong return on investment, and perhaps most important, communicating all this effectively, will pay off when times are tight and participation in your events must be justified.

We all know that travel and meetings are the first line items to be slashed when budgets get tight. As an industry, we should be doing more to educate people on the value of meetings in general. What can our industry do to promote itself in good times and bad? E-mail me your thoughts at deborah.sexton@pcma.org.