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You might think that building your innovation culture would take a back seat to more pressing issues when you are steering your company through tough economic times.  But innovation consultant Scott Anthony says it’s quite the opposite.

Writing for forbes.com, Anthony notes that some of the biggest companies we know today were formed in years of recession, including General Electric, Kraft, and IBM. 

Anthony argues that: “Scarcity forces a focus on developing creative ways to deliver customer value. It requires companies to shut down bad ideas early….what they should have been doing already.”

Scott Anthony also points out those companies with strong cultures of innovation simply carry on during economic downturns.  He points out companies like Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and IBM, that have all made strategic commitments to growth through innovation.

Anthony notes: “a structured approach to innovation helps in bad times because a company isn’t reliant on a single success.  A company can prune its innovation portfolio and still retain a large number of high-potential investments.”

Scott Anthony concludes that innovative companies will make major leaps ahead of their competition during tough times if they continue to be forward-looking, while others are hunkered down and concentrating on core products only.

Scott Anthony is president of Innosight, a consulting company specializing in innovation and disruptive strategy. You can read his blog at www.forbes.com.