The need of cutting, or at least containing, costs rules high on the corporate agenda. The common practice of attacking the overhead section of the P& L account, however, is producing short lived relief in the best of cases, and proves to be outright dangerous in most. In order to establish a sustainable cost environment companies not only in pursuit of operational excellence, but more often, in pursuit of survival, have to adopt a radically different approach. This paper outlines the considerable inherent risks of the traditional approach and suggests a sustainable remedy.