Henry Chesbrough, widely regarded as the father of Open Innovation, once said it with striking clarity:
“Not all the smart people work for your company.”
What if that truth finally became a strength for our organizations?
What if we learned to think beyond our own walls, to build with others, and to share what we cannot fully leverage alone?
We live in a world of knowledge abundance, not scarcity.
Yet, our innovation models remain too often closed, linear, and inward-looking.
It’s time to change course.
7 Practical Ideas to Transform Your Approach to Innovation
1. Change Your Mindset
Stop trying to do everything on your own.
Adopt an ecosystem logic. The best ideas can come from a student, a startup, or an unexpected partner.
Value openness over control.
2. Unlock Unused Ideas
Do you have prototypes, patents, or concepts left on the shelf?
Don’t let them sleep. Share them, license them, or entrust them to external players.
What brings no value to you today may create value elsewhere tomorrow.
3. Build Bridges Between Inside and Outside
Set up an Open Innovation Lab, host hackathons, collaborate with incubators.
These are not gadgets — they are powerful levers for collaboration and transformation.
4. Rethink HR Systems
Too often, recognition systems only reward what is achieved internally.
It’s time to celebrate successful collaborations with external partners, initiated connections, and shared projects.
5. Establish Open Governance
Include ecosystem players — clients, researchers, startups, students — in your innovation governance.
Give a voice to those who can enrich your projects, even if they don’t work within your company.
6. Share Without Overexposing
Protecting does not mean locking everything down.
Use simple, agile legal tools (licenses, tailored NDAs, open IP agreements) to share what can be shared — without compromising what must remain protected.
7. Think in Terms of Abundance
Open Innovation rests on a simple belief:
Value does not come from total control, but from the intelligent flow of knowledge.
The more you open up, the more you learn.
The more you share, the more you grow.
Opening Up Is Not Weakness — It’s Strength.
In a hyperconnected world, where innovation is continuous, isolation is no longer a strategic option.
Embracing Open Innovation means deeply transforming your culture, your mindset, and your creative process.
This change begins with one simple but essential question:
“What ideas are lying dormant in my company that could create opportunities elsewhere?”
And you — are you ready to open your boundaries and innovate differently?
Share your insights, experiences, and inspiring projects in the comments.
Florent Youzan