That's a sensible position to have for an established company that has a lot of cash in the bank, doesn't pay its engineers very much and has a long-term view.
However, if you're established but don't have cash, have low margins and expensive personnel, you're not in a very good position to start doing heavy R&D.
Apple doesn't reflect the state of tech startups. Lessons learned from Jobs should be taken into context.
If you don't have cash, get some by cutting everything you don't need. Build up a reserve and invest in long-term projects. Preferably ones that tie into a strategy of supplying services that other companies need but are currently supplied by companies that are going bust. Also, be pessimistic on your revenue projections.
And don't take random advice on forums as your guideline.
I hate it when a perfectly reasonable article is split into 15 separate sections you need to click through. Here's a copy you can read quickly - http://jottit.com/myvqn
I only read 15/15 and as far as I'm concerned I don't need to read the rest of it.
There are plenty of examples of succeeding in a downturn by doing the opposite of what everyone else does. It might take a little creativity to find available resources but history shows that it can be well worth it.
If you can afford to do anything to get a step ahead of your competition while there's a lull in the action, you should.
If you're selling products that will help your customers get ahead of their competition then you might have to figure out creative ways for them to pay you. Not everyone has this flexibility but if you can make it happen you'll help your customer AND your own company move ahead while everyone else takes a time-out.
He's going to increase funding for R&D in the downturn. I think, we as individuals, need to keep investing in ourselves during the downturn. Build our knowledge, reputation, connections, etc.
I really admire how honest Steve Jobs is with his own products:
Take the iPhone. We had a different enclosure design for this iPhone until way too close to the introduction to ever change it. And I came in one Monday morning, I said, 'I just don't love this. I can't convince myself to fall in love with this. And this is the most important product we've ever done.'
Looking at the long term chart, Apple seems to get pounded extra-hard in recessions. No surprise, as they essentially sell luxury goods. Corporate-wise, it hardly matters what they do now since their balance book is (extremely) healthy, but they've got 2 years of hard times, if history is a guide.
However, if you're established but don't have cash, have low margins and expensive personnel, you're not in a very good position to start doing heavy R&D.
Apple doesn't reflect the state of tech startups. Lessons learned from Jobs should be taken into context.
If you don't have cash, get some by cutting everything you don't need. Build up a reserve and invest in long-term projects. Preferably ones that tie into a strategy of supplying services that other companies need but are currently supplied by companies that are going bust. Also, be pessimistic on your revenue projections.
And don't take random advice on forums as your guideline.