It's easy to see how the recent economic downturn affects us negatively. Media and popular sentiment ride a depressing wave of lackluster financial reports, stock portfolio losses and layoffs. Recently, I've had the recent fortune of working with a number of businesses - both established firms and those in their infancy. And I've noticed several positive aspects to this downturn that provide some interesting takeaways.

1. Doing more with less. In an environment like this, you look for every way that you can achieve what you want to with the most efficient means possible. This should be mandatory for every business (at all times). But, ever notice how when times are good, we become a little lax about evaluating ROI or spending in places where we might not need to? This downturn has trimmed the fat from a lot of organizations. In many cases, they will emerge stronger for it.

2. Focus. Less room for error and a constant need to optimize means that we're not interested in wasting cycles. We choose to spend time, resources and capital on the people, ideas, markets and activities that are likely to produce the greatest result. As it should always be, this leads to a more evidenced-based style of management. Companies that hold themselves accountable now will benefit in the future.

3. Innovation. Doing more with less has also spawned new thinking. Rather than easily being able to rely upon existing solutions, companies and individuals have been forced to think outside the box. As with many downturns, this will give rise to another generation of interesting businesses...perhaps at a rate approaching the dot-com revolution.

In what other ways have you witnessed the upside of a downturn?