We often look for "big" ideas to drive growth, but history shows that the most disruptive forces often start as microscopic features. Over 160 billion times a day, a single icon—the Like button—is tapped, influencing global markets, consumer behavior, and the very fabric of human interaction.

How did a simple thumbs-up cartoon evolve from a "disorderly, serendipitous" experiment into a universal standard of value? In this strategic deep dive, Martin Reeves, Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute and author of Like: The Button that Changed the World, reveals the architectural secrets behind the world’s most successful micro-innovation. Drawing on business theory, evolutionary biology, and firsthand insights from the founders of PayPal, YouTube, and LinkedIn, Reeves explores how small design choices scale into world-altering realities. This session is designed for leaders and strategists who want to understand the mechanics of intuitive design, the psychology of global adoption, and how to identify the "small" ideas that will define the AI-charged future.

Key Takeaways:

• Learn how to distinguish between "noise" and small, unassuming features that have the potential to scale into global standards and redefine industries.

• Examine the "serendipitous yet structured" innovation process used by giants like PayPal, YouTube, and LinkedIn to create products that become intuitively and universally understood.

• Discover how to use insights from neuroscience and evolutionary biology to predict how your products will impact human behavior and long-term market dynamics.

About the Speaker:

Martin Reeves is a leading global thinker, author, and consultant on strategy and innovation. He is the Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, a fellow of Judge Business School at Cambridge University, and a board member of Arabesque AI. A prolific writer, Reeves is the author of more than a dozen books, including The Imagination Machine (2021), Your Strategy Needs a Strategy (2015), and his latest release, Like: The Button that Changed the World (2025). His work is frequently featured in Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, and Fortune. With a career dedicated to helping executives navigate complex decisions, Reeves provides a unique bridge between high-level academic research and practical business application.