Stop panicking--the fiscal cliff is approaching, but you can turn it around. Follow Warren Buffett and John D. Rockefeller's advice to grow your company in the midst of economic crisis.

Not long ago, Dubai emerged as a symbol of crazed civic ambition, a once-quiet desert burg suddenly superheated by cheap capital. That's over.

The faltering gobal ecomony has affected a pretty big target today--Sony [SNE] has announced a number of measures designed to "strengthen its corporate structure and bolster profitability across the Sony Group." Read: cut costs globally by ditching 8,000 permanent staff (5% of total staff), reducing headcount in seasonal and temporary staff, and reducing the number of manufacturing sites the Group uses.

"If you watch what is occurring today, people are acting like the sky is falling," says Cisco CEO John Chambers. But he has learned through numerous economic downturns -- he cites 1993, 1997, 2001, and 2003 -- that it's entirely possible to come out stronger than you were before. "Every time, we have gained market share, and two years later, our customer and employee satisfaction was greater," he says. Here's his advice for facing tough times.

Most people would be amazed at how much we can really do ourselves if we only take the opportunities in front of us. You don’t have to know all the answers, but if you keep asking the questions, you will get closer.

This is Ross Wirth speaking, Program Chair of Business Administration at Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio. I had a chance to speak with Ross last week. It got me thinking.