When I was chatting to that recruiter last week, she told me something pretty interesting. She thinks that one of our main competitors might be in a bit of trouble - at least if the number of CVs coming out of there is anything to go by. And I was inclined to agree, because generally speaking, employee morale is a pretty good indicator of a company's health. If you've got a lot of rats looking to jump ship, there's a good chance that ship is sinking.

I suppose it shouldn't really come as a surprise to learn that a company I know pretty well is struggling. After all, if the whole economy is going down the pan, as every paper I read keeps telling me, our industry is hardly likely to be spared. Lots of people ploughed into it during the good times, so there was always going to be a shake-out when things got tough. Nevertheless, it still came as a bit of a shock. So far this recession has largely been happening to other people; as long as we're still in the black, and our clients still seem to be spending (touch wood), the general panic all seems a bit over-blown. But somehow this made the whole thing seem a lot closer to home - there but for the grace of God go I, and all that.

Anyway, I know the guy who runs this company pretty well (we've bumped into each other at various events over the years), so I decided to give him a ring and invite him out for lunch. He seemed a bit taken aback, but agreed. And yes, I must admit: my reasons for calling him were largely self-interested. I figured that if the rumour was true, I should see if there was anything in it for us (you know - staff, assets etc). This probably seems a bit heartless, and I did feel briefly guilty about it. But the way I see it, these are tough times. If he's going down anyway, there's not much I can do - so if anyone's going to profit from his misfortune, it might as well be me.

Not surprisingly, lunch on Wednesday was an awkward affair: he looked stressed, I looked embarrassed, and we ended up swapping niceties until after he'd finished his main course (he ordered the steak, incidentally - I'd have done the same if one of my competitors was paying). Eventually, I plucked up the courage to ask him how business was.

‘Well, you know what it's like,' he said. ‘These are tough times. For all of us.'

‘Absolutely,' I agreed. ‘Definitely as bad as I can remember.'

‘Worse,' he replied. ‘It's carnage out there.'

‘Oh dear... So you're having a rough time then?' He grimaced, and I realised that we could go on like this until the cheese course unless I forced the issue a bit. ‘Listen - I heard you might be having a few problems, that's all. I just wanted to say that - you know - if there's anything I can do...'

Clearly there was a strange dynamic to this conversation. On the one hand, I genuinely felt sorry for him, and I think (I hope) he knew that. On the other hand, I would also be one of the main beneficiaries if he went down the pan, and he definitely knew that. ‘Don't worry,' he said, looking pained. ‘We're not quite on our last legs yet.'

‘Oh good,' I said. And both of us tried to work out whether or not I was being sincere. Running a business can be bad for your conscience sometimes...