Consider this:
Back in December 1982, a business manager with 25 years of experience had worked through five recessions. Now fast forward to December 2007. The next generation of business leaders, those again with 25 years of experience, had only managed through two recessions. Furthermore, those two recessions were two of the mildest of the post-World War II period.
Now, in early 2010, the current generation of leaders have managed through one real doozy of a downturn, but that does NOT mean that they are recession experts. It's worth spending some time reviewing your process for economic contingency planning, a process I described in my favorite book on economics and business.