#147—Martin Reeves: The Like Button That Changed the World

Martin Reeves is Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute and author of The Imagination Machine and his newest book, Like: The Button That Changed the World. A prolific strategist and researcher, Martin is known for uncovering practical lessons from unexpected places and helping leaders rethink innovation for the real world.In this conversation, we trace the surprising story of the “like” button—how a few lines of JavaScript, cultural quirks, and serendipitous accidents reshaped business models, advertising, and even human behavior. Martin reveals why most groundbreaking ideas don’t emerge from lone geniuses, but from messy communities, chance encounters, and recombinations of old ideas into something new.Whether you’re leading innovation at scale or just curious about the unintended consequences of technology, this episode will change how you think about creativity, feedback, and the ripple effects of small decisions.In this episode we cover:Why the “like” button is the ultimate case study in serendipitous innovationHow social signals scale beyond social media into CX, commerce, and B2B servicesThe role of culture, language, and naming in shaping adoption and meaningWhy second-order effects of innovation often matter more than first-order onesA practical lens for spotting and leveraging serendipity inside organizationsEpisode Timeline: 00:00 – Introduction 02:00 – Guest Introduction 03:45 – Toaster Projects and Innovation06:13 - Origins of the Like Button08:25 - Cultural History of the Thumbs Up Gesture14:31 - Multiple Inventors and Facebook's Role34:27 - Inside the Code: How Likes Work36:11 - Future Implications of Like TechnologyAdditional Resources:Book Website: LikeBook.orgMartin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-reevesBook: Like: The Button That Changed the WorldThank you to our executive producer Zach Ness, our producer Nazanin Homayoun Jam and our editor James Pearce. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, download, and subscribe. I’m your host, Kaihan Krippendorff—thank you for listening.Follow us at outthinker.com/podcast