Some small businesses are proactively finding roads to recovery, using network technology to reposition themselves. Their rules: Rethink the way business has been done, and accelerate recovery by investing in 21st-century technology that raises revenues, controls costs, and/or improves cash flow. The businesses are also strategic about who provides the technology.

Leading businesses' strategic routes to recovery include:

• Raising revenues by getting better and bigger
• Controlling labor costs by increasing productivity
• Improving cash flow and profits by cutting overhead
• Reevaluating your technology suppliers