We recently delivered the keynote address at a private conference of senior executives from many different industries and we thought we’d pass along some sharp insights from a panel we witnessed. The panel consisted of a chairman, a CEO and a COO. The three companies they represent have all dodged the current crisis, and the executives were offering advice on how to build a company that will be immune to the big swings we’re currently experiencing.

Their advice:

–“Stay balanced. Don’t let the pendulum swing too much. Don’t switch strategy too frequently.” In other words, don’t lurch into a new market the way Merrill Lynch did when it decided that it could manage risk and generate the sorts of profits that Goldman Sachs and many hedge funds did. Stick with your priorities and the principles that got you to where you are.

–“Have leaders with long-enough tenure at the top of the business.” That way, they’ve weathered a crisis or two. They not only know how to handle a crisis when it comes. They also have a healthy enough fear of a crisis that they won’t do anything rash that would leave the company vulnerable.

–“Make more compensation long-term.” Companies are sometimes tempted to maximize profit in the current year, to generate the biggest bonuses. But that mentality can put a company in a bad position for future years. The panelists noted that Goldman Sachs, which seems to be sailing through the problems that have laid competitors low, has a compensation structure that certainly pays well year to year but really gets executives focused on building the packages that they will receive when they leave the company. That structure keeps Goldman executives thinking about the health of the business 10 to 15 years outs.

–“Share the compensation.” Don’t let the CEO or his top team get a disproportionate share. If everyone has some skin in the game, everyone will pull together.

–“Make sure the CEO drills down into the details.” The panelists pointed to Jaime Dimon, CEO of JPMorganChase, another company that was well-prepared for the credit crunch. Dimon is getting widespread praise for his practice of poring over volumes of information so he can understand his risk position—every day. Now that’s partly a tribute to his information systems—you can’t look at such detailed information if you don’t have it. But mostly Dimon’s practice seem to be a discipline that the panelists admired. As one put it, “As soon as you hear a CEO says the detail work is someone else’s responsibility, you know that company is headed for trouble. The only question is when that trouble will surface.”