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In period of disorder , chances abound. All heads must do is keep their companies afloat, their eyes peeled for openings, and their bearings—as the old rules wash away

What do Carnegie Steel and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) have in common ? Both were born at a time when people thought the world was breaking down . Andrew Carnegie launched his first steel mill during the Panic of 1873, the start of a long prices to build an industrial construction that made him the world’s richest man. Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard showed same grit when they hurled HP from a Palo Alto (Calif.) garage toward the end of the Great Depression.

History has shown that turning point begets opportunity. Business chiefs may have to cut prices to survive 2009, but the smart ones are also out there looking for chances . They are willing to take the kind of bold move that IBM (IBM) made during the recessionary days of 1981 when CEO John R. Opel aggressively rolled out the company’s landmark personal computer just as PC demand soared. Even in the current downturn, there are corporations like AT&T (T), which recently announced plans to buy two companies for a total of $1.2 billion.

Managers are now dealing with everything from shattered consumer confidence to tighter credit, not to note the likelihood of a tougher regulatory environment. Conclusions that made sensation two years ago may prove disastrous in this climate—from giving outsize compensation to those who take big risks to borrowing heavily just because interest rates are low. Years of excessive borrowing have taken a toll: An unprecedented two-thirds of nonfinancial American firms covered by Standard & Poor’s have speculative-grade, or junk-rated, debt. (S&P, like BusinessWeek , is a unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies (MHP).) In general , U.S. businesses face a $238 billion wave of debt maturities that will come due by the end of 2009. “Many companies are questioning their survival,” says Gerry Hansell, a senior partner at Boston Consulting Group.

Executives have to lead “their people out of a psychological funk and at the same time tailor their business to focus on a new reality,” says management consultant Ram Charan. That’s good advice during any business cycle but especially important today. Here are some new rules for managing through a tough 2009—and beyond:

CHANGE YOUR IDEAS

Money is scarce . Markets are unsteady . Morale is harder to boost in an atmosphere of worry . Acknowledge to yourself and your team that the world has changed. Dennis Carey, a senior partner at Korn Ferry International (KFY), debates that now is the time to point every technique that worked during boom years.

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