Business books typically aim to provide a roadmap to success by introducing new ideas or approaches, as seen in bestsellers like Jim Collins’ Good to Great, Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur’s Business Model Generation, and Ethan Mollick’s Co-intelligence. However, an upcoming book titled “Like: The button that changed the world” diverges from this norm, focusing more on the experience and exploration of a business phenomenon, rather than selling a particular idea or strategy.
The book, co-authored by Martin Reeves, strays from traditional business book norms. It doesn’t feature summaries, bullet points, a single core message, or a rigid structure. Instead, it delves deep into the story behind the like button, a seemingly trivial yet transformational feature in the digital world. The book also reflects the complex and ambiguous nature of the real world, rather than presenting a simplified view to support a central message.
The book’s approach is more about showing rather than telling, avoiding leading with a theory. The story of the like button, for instance, highlights that innovation is not the work of one hero, but a serendipitous social event involving multiple contributors. The book suggests that the importance of an innovation may not