Do a better job putting your company in front of audiences that provide the best chances of a return; spend money only on things that are essential; and take advantage of all the smart employees at your company by giving them a voice in the company’s direction.

This is some of the advice dispensed by executives of three Rhode Island-based information technology companies, who gathered yesterday for a panel discussion called “Making it Through the Downturn and Emerging Stronger than Ever,” at the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation

Rhode Island’s technology companies have seen bad times before. The survivors of the dot-com crash in the late 1990s had to adapt quickly to fast-changing business conditions.

So they are, perhaps, in a good position to offer advice about how to weather today’s struggling economy, which has affected just about every business segment.