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We didn't always share well. But with the big things, and in the hard times, we got by with the help of each other.

Maybe it's a stretch to segue from my childhood to working in chains today. But one thing is for sure: We don't always share well.

Why should we? Competition is brutal, with chains grabbing onto customers and share however they can. But maybe this scary time is exactly when we need to share information and best practices.

Especially on things that aren't competitive differentiators. When I spoke to Anne Munoz-Furlong, the founder and CEO of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, I asked her about how chains can start a food-allergy program. She said they should ask their colleagues.

It's one of those areas where any improvement is good for all, just as any crisis is bad for all. Others are food safety, recruiting and retaining a quality work force, and eco-friendly practices like saving energy and reducing waste.

We have some great pockets of sharing in the industry; for example, at conferences. As we're finishing up this issue of Chain Leader, we're also getting last-minute details together for Chain Leader LIVE.

We see a lot of the same people at conferences. It's not that they have a whole lot of time on their hands. It's that they value the information they get from formal sessions and cocktail parties. Maybe they're not sharing news about a hot, new limited-time offer. But they're willing to share how they're looking into some lower-cost proteins to balance some pricing pressures.

Our Driving Traffic research revealed that the industry's suppliers are offering fewer promotions, menu-development ideas and programs to fewer chains, presumably focusing on their top customers. Conferences are a great place to get to know your supplier partners on a different level so they think of you when they have such helpful programs to offer.

When an alcoholic reaches bottom, the first step toward recovery is admitting there is a problem and getting help. And much of that help comes in the form of meeting with other people who have the same problem and swapping ideas for getting through it.

I don't know what “reaching bottom” means to you. But I do know that consumers are changing the way they use restaurants and how they define value. And that for at least the time being, most of our money is going to have to come the hard way—from earning it rather than from borrowing it. Someone in that support group just might have an answer or two.

A high tide raises all boats. And couldn't we all use a bit of raising?