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"The worst of the financial crisis is already over," says Damien O'Brien, Chief Executive Officer of Egon Zehnder International, in an upbeat interview with the Argentinean daily La Nación. In O'Brien's personal view, the overall economic situation should start to brighten in a few months. Against this background he advises CEOs to adopt a long-term perspective when taking important decisions so as to avoid compromising the future integrity of their organization. A common response to the current crisis on the part of many companies has been to downsize fast. But these firms will struggle to return to growth when market conditions improve, warns O'Brien because sweeping redundancies tend to alienate both employees and clients. In his view the keys to success are looking after client relations and, "keeping talent committed and motivated, even in difficult times." O'Brien nevertheless expects unemployment to continue to rise for the next couple of years due to the far-reaching implications of the crisis, with emerging economies rebounding faster than their Western counterparts. In terms of the competencies required by CEOs in a downturn, strategic-thinking, team leadership and results-orientation remain critical leadership skills.