When rereading the works of Henry Chesbrough, I can’t help but notice how profoundly they resonate with our times. For a long time, companies believed that innovation had to remain locked within their walls — protected, almost jealously guarded. But that model is running out of steam. In many industries, it simply no longer meets the challenges of today’s world.
The reason is simple: knowledge is no longer confined. It flows everywhere, crosses borders, and is exchanged at dizzying speed.
Clinging to the idea of doing everything alone is to risk stagnation — and to miss out on essential opportunities.
That’s where Chesbrough opens a different path: the path of Open Innovation. Not as an opposition to internal R&D, but as its natural extension. By combining internal strengths with external contributions, a company gives itself the means not only to innovate, but also to transform that innovation into real and lasting value.
What strikes me most in this vision is how it turns our perspective upside down. Too often, external talents are seen as competitors or threats. Chesbrough invites us to see them differently — as an opportunity. If we know how to build bridges with them, we avoid the pitfalls of useless duplication, escape the closed circle of repetitive ideas, and unleash multiplied potential.
Each encounter, each idea from elsewhere can become a spark. It nourishes, inspires, and amplifies. Internal efforts then take on a whole new dimension, because they are fueled by a living and open ecosystem.
This, at its core, is Chesbrough’s logic of change: open, connect, multiply. I fully identify with it, because I too believe that the future will belong to those who know how to build bridges rather than walls.
Henry Chesbrough structures his conviction into a strategic and tactical approach that I would summarize in a few key points:
- Build a clear roadmap to advance in the current business.
- Identify and correct blind spots and internal biases.
- Explore and develop new business opportunities.
- Experiment and refine the business model best suited to innovation.
- Strengthen partnerships with universities and invest in fundamental research.
- Establish and nurture a culture of openness and knowledge sharing within the organization.
Moving from a closed innovation model to Open Innovation is not merely a matter of methodology — it is first and foremost a shift in mindset. It requires accepting to loosen control, recognizing that we cannot master everything, and admitting that the most brilliant ideas do not always emerge within our own walls. They can arise from unexpected partners, distant actors, or even from sectors we never thought to observe.
The benefits of such openness are tangible:
- It helps quickly fill the blind spots of a roadmap.
- It accelerates learning and reduces trial-and-error cycles.
- It opens access to new markets.
- And it contributes to building a more robust and diversified innovation portfolio.
The point is not to oppose Open Innovation to internal R&D. On the contrary — one does not replace the other; they complement each other. Internal research remains vital, but it takes on new meaning when embedded in a broader, connected, and living ecosystem.
In a world where change has become constant, the companies capable of crossing this threshold will not merely adapt — they will be the ones who endure, grow stronger, and discover new ways to thrive.
Florent Youzan