As we were putting together this month's issue, I began to wonder where the glimmers of optimism in the industry are coming from. It certainly isn't a result of recent economic reports. In February, unemployment numbers were holding steady near 10 percent; new-home sales experienced their fourth-straight monthly drop, taking them to record low levels; and the stock markets were still wildly wavering.

But in addition to the cautious optimism showed by the service center executives who participated in this month's cover story ("Navigating the challenges ahead"), Prime Advantage, Chicago, a buying consortium for midsized industrial manufacturers, recently released its annual Group CFO survey, which discusses the top financial concerns of its member companies' CFOs, who are also optimistic about the future.

The survey respondents see the recession and tight credit conditions impacting 2010 growth, and 57 percent of respondents reported that domestic employment in their factories won't return to year-end 2007 levels before 2011 or 2012. Other concerns included uncertainty about customer demand, price pressures and federal government policies.

However, 82 percent expect to hire new staff to meet an increased demand in 2010, 67 percent felt more optimistic about the economy compared with 2009 and 64 percent were more optimistic about the financial prospects for their own companies, with 51 percent ranking them a 7 or higher on a scale of 1 to 10.

It's certainly too early to declare victory over a daunting recession. Business isn't back to normal. So, does this optimism come from the small daily triumphs over adversity?

In the April issue of Runner's World, there was a brief mention of Dustin Hucks, who set out last August to run approximately 1,100 miles from Burbank, Calif., to Lubbock, Texas. His quest was to raise money for cancer research, and two people had agreed to support him along the way. Three weeks into the journey, the crew bailed on him. He responded by carrying his own gear, and he reached the finish line in October. He said that if he were to do it again, "I'd have it happen this way. I learned I'm strong."

The strength of being able to carry your own gear through tough times encourages optimism--at least when those difficult days are securely in your rearview mirror. Although I'm sure no one is going to voluntarily sign up to go through 2009 over and over, "Groundhog Day" style, the companies that have survived the recession are leaner, wiser and ready to face the market ahead. They've been tested, and they've met the challenge head-on.