The cure is not cost cutting! The cure is to innovate out of your predicament. Wise Words?

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I came across a short quote that someone had posted on Twitter that I found insightful, provocative and relevant to the world we are living in. A world where countries are basically going bust - and people are too from over extending themselves.

It is really good advice to leaders of companies and brands. The quote was attributed to Steve Jobs when he returned to Apple in the 1990s when it was really struggling. He reportedly said: "The cure is not cost-cutting. The cure is to innovate out of the current predicament".

Today, we see all around us companies, countries and brands focusing on costs and how to cut those, for example:

• We see brands taking price effectively by reducing the quantity or count of product to try and hide that they are taking out cost of product.
• We see advertising that gets safer and safer, and more generic and alike others and the category. Focused on deals on offers.
• We see price promotions galore, trying to hold up sales while demand softens.
• We see companies looking to cut heads and to reduce the number of people managing, innovating and creating value.

However, in a recession - or when things are tough  - has also been the times when major breakthroughs and innovation has taken place. This proves the point Steve Jobs made, the only way to really break out of the problem is to innovate, not just focus on cost cutting.

Some of the biggest and most striking breakthroughs that have turned lives, companies and brands around have been when backs have been against the wall, and in times if recession and crisis

For example:

• Most agree that the Second World War was the major reason for huge break-throughs and leaps in flight and planes. In those troubling years, major advances were made in aviation - revolutionising the industry and what was possible before the war and after it.
• As we have seen, Apple has boomed and still booms through the tough economy through the focus on changing the rules and innovation, driving demand and value.
• In a recent podcast I was listening to (BBC's On The Money) they argued that items like the Internet, Post-it notes and so on all came out during recession
• Microsoft and Disney, 2 of the biggest companies in the world were created during major downturns.

The easy thing to do when times are tight is to retreat and cost cut. But the bold focus on innovation. These seem to be the ones that win.

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