The economy has been a brutal test for American companies, and their training departments. The recession, 9/11, the rash of corporate accounting scandals, those have made for quite an economic gauntlet, which few companies have managed to come through unscathed. Standout companies who come out of the recession as winners are, Southwest Airlines, Viacom, Dell, and security experts Guardsmark. Strategies that helped Southwest Airlines are, near-fanatical approach to cost-savings, a training structure that instills the unique Southwest culture in every newly hired employee, and a consistent management style through the wildly fluctuating economy. Other successful companies also did similar things to get over the crises.