R&D Spending In Hard Times Has Big Payoffs!

I met with one of my clients the other day who used to be one of the top product development managers at ITW (Illinois Tool Works). His particular expertise is setting up and managing overseas operations in India and China. One thing he shared was downturns were the perfect time for spending on R&D (Research and Development). Instead, companies tend to cut back on science, engineering and technical projects during an economic downturn. A better approach would be to invest heavily in R&D during a tough period. Then you would be well positioned to move past your competitors when things turned around instead of trying to play catch up like everyone else does.