Articles

In an era of intensifying polarization, the boundary between business and politics has effectively vanished, rendering political and ethical dynamics as no longer peripheral risks but central strategic variables. This interview with Martin Reeves, author, speaker and adviser on strategy and innovation, examines how leaders who embed pragmatic political thinking into their strategy will be better positioned to safeguard long-term value.

In complex and uncertain environments, clarity is not always the most effective leadership tool. This article argues that deliberate ambiguity can, in certain contexts, foster dialogue, invite diverse perspectives, and keep strategic options open. Leaders who calibrate when to provide clarity – and when to create space for interpretation – are better positioned to navigate uncertainty and enable more collaborative, adaptive decision-making.

In an era of volatility and abundant data, the traditional tradeoffs of innovation – between speed and cost, experimentation and efficiency, and risk and return – are no longer inevitable. Written during his time at BCG, this article by Martin Reeves and colleagues argues that leading companies can overcome these constraints through co-ambidexterity, tightly linking exploration and exploitation via continuous customer feedback. Firms that integrate innovation into core operations – using real-time data, AI, and rapid experimentation – can turn everyday activity into a source of insight, enabling faster, smarter, and lower-risk innovation.

In an age shaped by ubiquitous digital habits, even the smallest technologies can generate outsized social effects. This article explores how the everyday use of smartphones – embodied in the “thumb” – has become a subtle but powerful source of tension, reshaping attention, communication, and social norms. As these micro-behaviors accumulate, they blur boundaries between presence and absence, creating friction across individuals and groups. Those who recognize how small shifts compound over time are better positioned to understand and navigate broader cultural change.

Written by Martin Reeves and colleagues, this article argues that today’s dominant AI trajectory – centralized, model-driven, and controlled by a few players – risks limiting both societal value and long-term sustainability. Instead, it proposes a new vision: building an AI ecosystem that works for people and the planet, grounded in collective intelligence and broad participation.

“Like” authors Martin Reeves and Bob Goodson explain the origin story of the Like button and how it became one of the most important features of social media today.

This article examines that to tap into the most imaginative and transformative possibilities, companies need to harness the power of collective intelligence and serendipity.

The authors of “Like: The Button That Changed the World” found it helped fuel modern online marketing while delivering satisfying dopamine hits to our psyche.

Written during Martin Reeve’s time at BCG, this article explores that the key to lasting competitive advantage lies in building strategies around resources company rivals can’t easily replicate, like culture, experience and complexity.

In a world increasingly shaped by digital habits, small, everyday behaviors are quietly reshaping how we experience attention, interaction, and social norms. This article reflects on the tension between constant connectivity and growing distraction, showing how routine smartphone use can introduce distance and friction in both personal and public life. As these patterns repeat at scale, they subtly redefine how people relate to one another – illustrating how incremental behavioral shifts can drive broader social change.

Amid political uncertainty, leaders must learn when to delay actions — and how to avoid drifting.

This article uses the “like” button as an example of how small digital features can drive large-scale behavioral and economic change. It argues that AI will have a similar impact – shaping decisions gradually through everyday interactions rather than sudden disruption. The key insight is that the real value of AI lies in how it influences behavior at scale, affecting what people choose, value, and invest in over time.

Written by Martin Reeves and colleagues during his time at BCG, this article examines: what do LEGO, Netflix, and Narayana Health have in common? They’ve mastered multidexterity—the rare ability to innovate and optimize simultaneously—by embedding digital transformation deep within their strategy, culture, and operations.

As digital platforms quantify social approval, the “like” has evolved from a simple gesture into a powerful behavioral driver. This article examines how these feedback mechanisms draw on fundamental human tendencies for recognition and belonging, subtly guiding how individuals present themselves and interact. What begins as a small signal of approval becomes a system that shapes attention, behavior, and social dynamics at scale.

Will platforms continue to offer the like button as an all-purpose tool — or will each of the button’s functions take its own path?

Liking features on social media can provide troves of data about human behavior to AI models. But as AI gets smarter, will it be able to know users’ preferences before they do?

In the near term, it seems reasonable to expect a further unravelling of the corporate sustainability agenda. The U.S. government is swiftly unwinding sustainability commitments, there is pushback against new European reporting requirements, and many companies are already back-pedaling on initiatives. All may not be lost though. There are reasons to believe that several countervailing forces will eventually overturn this clear regression and lead to a renewed emphasis on sustainability, albeit after a messy interregnum which could last several years.

In a low-growth, high-constraint environment, achieving growth has become both more difficult and more essential. Written with colleagues during Martin Reeve’s time at BCG, this article argues that companies can no longer rely on external tailwinds – such as globalization, cheap capital, or demographic expansion – and must instead pursue deliberate growth transformations. Yet the paradox is that these transformations are hardest when they are most needed, and only a minority succeed. Firms that outperform do so by balancing key tensions – including creativity and discipline, long-term vision and near-term execution, and experience and adaptability.

President Trump’s tariff moves have jolted markets and thrust business leaders into deep uncertainty. Developing a better understanding of tariffs’ primary and secondary macroeconomic effects, as well as any plausible long-term consequences, will allow executives to continuously assess the impact on their markets and businesses. With so much in flux, leaders need to ditch rigid plans and instead build flexible, analytical muscle to navigate this turbulent new landscape.

The invention of the like button, which today can be found everywhere on the internet, transformed digital advertising and marketing and fueled the rise of the social media industry. While most people attribute it to Facebook, the button was actually used in some form by multiple companies several years before Facebook adopted it. In fact, after spending three years researching its origins, the authors were unable to identify a single inventor of the button. And that’s what makes its origin story so instructive. The like button’s design and development could be considered a miniature case study on the true nature of innovation—which is distributed, unpredictable, and far more modest in ambition than heroic innovation narratives suggest. That holds important implications for managers, who must stop trying to tightly manage innovation and learn to embrace its messy and iterative nature. To succeed, they’ll have to be open to surprises, legitimize inconsistencies, encourage diverse contributions, and balance structured processes with flexibility and curiosity.