Podcasts about incorruptible

A patient kept showing up in the Emergency Room. Most insurance reps would approve or decline each claim and move on. One customer service representative at Devoted Health called to ask the patient why there were so many repeated visits. Didn't take long for the rep to discover the problem. It was created by mold in the patient's home. The deeper problem was the patient had no money to move. The rep didn't just flag it. She got the company to help the patient move to a new and safe place. Eric Ries tells this story in his latest book, Incorruptible, as proof of something AI can't replicate: the instinct to ask the right question and respond to the answer as if the patient were a family member. On this episode, Cal and Eric talk about what happens when a business defines its product as love. And why there are no algorithms that can compete with the human touch when it comes to generating supreme loyalty.

Healthcare companies are built to improve patients' lives. So why do so many prioritize shareholders over the people they're meant to serve?This week, Halle sits down with Eric Ries, author of Incorruptible, to unpack the rise of shareholder primacy, what it is, and why he believes it's at the root of many of society's biggest challenges. They discuss the surprising history of corporate governance, the lessons behind Novo Nordisk's century-long success, and what founders can do today to keep their companies aligned with their mission as they grow.We cover:Why shareholder primacy reshaped corporate America (and where we go from here)How Novo Nordisk's unusual ownership structure may have saved GLP-1 researchThe simple governance change that could preserve your company's mission for decadesHow boards, investors, and acquisitions can slowly pull companies away from their original purposeThe founder mistakes that make mission drift almost inevitableAbout our guest:Over the last two decades, Eric Ries's ideas about continuous innovation, long-term thinking, governance, and market reform have reshaped company building and management practices. He is the creator of the Lean Startup method, and the author of two New York Times bestsellers The Lean Startup and Incorruptible; The Leader's Guide; and The Startup Way. As a founder, he has put his own ideas into practice with The Long-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE); Answer.AI, an AI R&D lab; Virgil, a legal services startup; and IMVU. On The Eric Ries Show, he talks with world-class technologists, thought leaders, and executives building for the long-term. Check out his book, Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad…and How Great Companies Stay Great—

In this Risky Business sponsor interview Casey Ellis chats with Haroon Meer from Thinkst about building companies customers don't hate. Haroon explains why Thinkst still offers Canary tokens for free and why it has avoided annual price hikes on its paid products. They talk about Eric Ries's “Incorruptible”, Rob Lee's 100-year-company approach at Dragos, and why keeping customers happy is a better business strategy than chasing easy sugar highs. Show notes

Most founders assume that building a great product and serving customers well will be enough to protect what they have built. Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup and the new book Incorruptible, argues that the assumption is dangerously wrong.   In this episode of Business For Good, Paul Shapiro sits down with Eric Ries to explore why successful organizations are systematically pulled toward corruption by a force he calls financial gravity. The conversation examines how short-term investor incentives, flawed governance structures, and misaligned compensation hollow out companies from the inside, often without anyone intending it. Eric explains the difference between mission-hopeful companies that merely wish to stay on course and mission-driven companies that have actually engineered structural protections into their governance.   The discussion covers why independent directors have statistically failed to prevent corporate corruption, how industrial foundation structures used by companies like Patagonia, IKEA, and Novo Nordisk produce dramatically better long-term outcomes, and why tenured voting rights could realign shareholder power with genuine stewardship. Paul and Eric also explore how the same forces corrupt nonprofit organizations, using examples from animal welfare and Eric's work with Adopt-a-Pet founder David Meyer.   Things You Will Learn: Why the most successful companies become the most vulnerable targets for corruption, and why it is a systems problem, not a people problem. How financial gravity collapses organizations over time, stripping away the qualities that made them distinctive. Why independent directors have statistically failed to prevent corporate corruption despite being the standard prescription. How industrial foundation structures produce companies that are roughly five times more likely to survive to year 50 than conventionally governed peers. Why tenured voting rights and multi-stakeholder governance could replace the broken one-share-one-vote model.   Tools & Frameworks Covered: Financial Gravity: The systemic force transmitted by financial markets that gradually pulls companies away from their founding mission toward extractive behavior, regardless of the intentions of the people involved. Mission Hopeful vs. Mission Driven: A diagnostic framework for evaluating whether an organization has genuine structural protections for its mission or is simply hoping good intentions will be enough. Constitutional Governance / Industrial Foundation Structure: A corporate governance model where an outside nonprofit foundation or purpose trust serves as mission guardian over a for-profit operating company, used by Patagonia, Novo Nordisk, IKEA, and others, with evidence showing dramatically higher longevity and financial performance. #BusinessForGood #SustainableBusiness #FutureOfFood #AlternativeProtein 

Why do so many great companies get bought, then deliberately ruined in the name of profit? That mystery is what drove Eric Ries, author of the mega-bestseller The Lean Startup, to write his new book, Incorruptible. Eric has spent 15 years helping founders build companies, and he has watched the best of the industry alongside its dark side: beloved brands acquired and gutted, founders pushed out of companies that still bear their names. In this episode, he unpacks why it keeps happening, and what a rare set of enduring companies do differently. In this Marketing Speak episode, Eric breaks down: ✅ Why learning, not technology, is still the real rate-limiting step in the AI era ✅ Why you can't outsource the hard cognitive work, no matter how good the tools get ✅ The two traits that Costco, Patagonia, Vanguard, and Rolex share despite having nothing else in common ✅ Ethos and integrity: how to give your mission a guardian that outlasts shareholder pressure ✅ Why it's always too early to protect your company's mission, until suddenly it's too late Whether you're starting something new or trying to keep what you've built from being hollowed out, Eric's blueprint for an incorruptible company is worth your time. Tune in! The show notes, including the transcript and checklist to this episode, are at marketingspeak.com/546  

Episode SummaryRecorded live at the San Diego Angel Conference finale at SDSU, Eric Ries — author of The Lean Startup — sits down with product leader and founder coach Vidya Dinamani to unpack his new book, Incorruptible. His argument: there's a gravitational force that pulls even mission-driven companies toward decay — “the making of money without the creating of value” — and the more successful you get, the bigger a target you become. Eric walks through how it happens (stack-ranking by ROI, the “what would investors want” ghost in every meeting, Groupon's two-emails-a-day spiral), why the fix has to come earlier than anyone wants (“it's too early until it's too late”), and the concrete governance moves that keep the great ones honest. Along the way: the San Diego origin story of Costco, Cloudflare giving away its best paid feature, Anthropic's long-term benefit trust, a hard-nosed take on AI, and a health insurer whose customer-service reps act like guardian angels.Key Topics* Corruption as “making money without creating value”* The gravity that pulls companies from mission to mediocrity* Costco's San Diego origin — and why FedMart died* Why stack-ranking by ROI buries the work that builds trust* “It's too early until it's too late” — protecting the mission in time* The PBC filing and binding your board to the mission* AI as a “Dunning-Kruger factory,” and how to actually use it* “Love” as an operating framework: the Devoted Health storyLinks & Resources* Incorruptible* The Lean Startup* Long-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE)* San Diego Angel ConferenceConnect on LinkedIn* Neal Bloom * Eric Ries* Vidya Dinamani This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/subscribe

Corruption in organizations is one of the biggest problems of our time, and many people believe it may be unsolvable—but Eric Ries doesn't think so. As entrepreneur and author, Eric has dedicated his career to helping businesses succeed and do the right thing. His new book, Incorruptible, focuses on how to help organizations stay aligned with their ideals. In this episode, Adam and Eric break down why it's so easy for modern companies to go astray from their missions, the incentives that encourage organizations to deprioritize their principles, and what differentiates companies that have managed to avoid corruption over long periods of time. Eric recommends a series of practices that any workplace can adopt, and shares what he learned from establishing a stock exchange anchored on long-term value instead of short-term returns.Featured guestFollow Eric Ries on LinkedInBuy IncorruptibleConnect with the teamFollow Adam on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at adamgrant.net/Subscribe to Adam's Substack GrantedWatch ReThinking videos on YouTube at TEDPodsFollow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTokReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith.For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BIO: For the past 20 years, Paul Zelizer has been a coach and consultant for mission driven entrepreneurs and businesses. You can find out more about his services at PaulZelizer.com This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Episode 390: How to 100X Your Social Impact with Kurt Avery Pii Energy website Avanyu LLC website Episode 396: Incorruptible with Eric Ries Paul's Strategy Sessions Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode

Episode Summary: In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy Thanjan speaks with Eric Ries, bestselling author of The Lean Startup, about his new book, Incorruptible. Eric explains why successful companies often lose their mission as they grow, take on outside capital, and face pressure to prioritize short-term shareholder returns over long-term value. He explores how founders can protect the original purpose of their companies through stronger governance, legal structures, aligned investors, and what he calls “mission integrity.” The conversation also covers lessons from Costco, FedMart, Anthropic, public benefit corporations, employee ownership, and purpose trusts. Eric also explains why the core principles of The Lean Startup remain highly relevant in the age of artificial intelligence. Biographies Benoy Thanjan Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, a solar development and consulting firm, and the host of the Solar Maverick Podcast. He also serves as a strategic advisor to multiple cleantech startups. Over his career, Benoy has developed more than 100 MW of solar projects across the United States, advised on more than 1 GW of energy projects worldwide, helped launch some of the first residential solar tax equity funds at Tesla, and brokered approximately $50 million in renewable energy credit transactions. Before founding Reneu Energy, Benoy worked in Tesla's Project Finance Group as an environmental commodities trader, where he managed one of the company's largest environmental commodities portfolios. He originated renewable energy credit transactions and worked with senior leadership to develop monetization and hedging strategies supporting the company's expansion into East Coast markets. Benoy also served as Vice President at Vanguard Energy Partners, a solar and energy storage construction company, where he developed project finance solutions for commercial-scale solar portfolios. At Ridgewood Renewable Power, a private equity fund with approximately 125 MW of U.S. renewable energy assets, he evaluated investment opportunities, supported portfolio strategy, and played a key role in the sale of the firm's renewable energy portfolio. Earlier in his career, Benoy worked in Energy Structured Finance at Deloitte & Touche and in Financial Advisory Services at Ernst & Young. He also completed an internship on the trading floor at D. E. Shaw & Co., a global investment and technology development firm. Benoy holds an MBA in Finance from Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Economics from the NYU Stern School of Business, where he was an Alumni Scholar.   Guest Information Eric Ries Eric Ries is an entrepreneur, author, and leading thinker on innovation, management, and organizational design. He is best known as the author of the New York Times bestseller The Lean Startup, which introduced the Build-Measure-Learn framework and helped transform how startups and established companies develop new products under conditions of uncertainty. His latest book, Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great, examines why organizations lose their founding principles and how leaders can design companies that remain trustworthy, mission-driven, and successful over the long term. Eric has worked with startups, major corporations, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and leaders across industries to create more innovative and resilient organizations. Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com Website: https://www.solarmaverickpodcast.com/   Eric Ries Website: https://incorruptible.co       Website: https://howisincorruptiblegoing.com       Legal services (Virgil): https://tryvirgil.com    Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/   Please provide 5 star reviews      If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review and share the Solar Maverick Podcast so more people can learn how to accelerate the clean energy transition.    Reneu Energy Reneu Energy provides expert consulting across solar and storage project development, financing, energy strategy, and environmental commodities. Our team helps clients originate, structure, and execute opportunities in community solar, C&I, utility-scale, and renewable energy credit markets. Email us at info@reneuenergy.com to learn more.  

Recorded live at #mtpcon London, Lily sits down with Emily Tate — former MD of Mind the Product for a broad debrief on the day's themes. They cover why product and design may matter more in an AI world than ever before, how heritage organisations can navigate transformation without the luxury of greenfield conditions, and what it actually takes to get internal stakeholders on side. Emily also makes a case for why SaaS isn't dead, why positioning fundamentals haven't changed despite the AI frenzy, and why remote work is draining the fun out of product teams.Chapters0:00 — Intro1:00 — The state of AI in product: still an inflection point3:18 — AI is a technology, not a moat4:57 — Keeping the humanity in product work6:13 — Advice for PMs new to the industry8:38 — Why conferences need both practical and inspirational talks10:24 — How to start speaking: find your local ProductTank13:46 — You don't need a novel idea to give a great talk16:01 — Charity Ibhadon's talk: product is hard, but it should be fun16:19 — Remote work and the slow erosion of joy at work19:15 — Innovating inside heritage organisations21:39 — Stop trying to educate stakeholders about product24:06 — April Dunford on positioning: what AI changes, and what it doesn't27:00 — The SaaS-pocalypse myth28:47 — Predictions: 12–18 more months of heavy AI talk30:59 — Filtering signal from noise: where Emily reads31:40 — Eric Ries' Incorruptible and building companies that resist corruptionKey takeawaysIf your only moat is AI, you don't have a moat. AI is a capability, not a product. The question is how you're using it to serve customers better than you could before — not whether you're using it at all.Building is no longer the bottleneck — deciding what to build is. That shift makes strong product and design thinking more important, not less.Stop trying to teach stakeholders about product. Drop the methodology, use their language, show them something tangible, and bring them along in ways that make sense to them — not to you.SaaS has a defensible edge. Products built on experience across hundreds of customers carry knowledge that a single company building its own solution can't replicate. That's a positioning story worth telling.Positioning fundamentals haven't changed. Sprinkling AI on your messaging doesn't sharpen it. Outside of tech, leading with AI can actively damage trust.You don't need a novel idea to give a great talk. Your version of a familiar concept might be the one that finally makes it click for someone. Start at a local ProductTank.Don't try to be someone else on stage. Find your style by doing it. Authenticity beats borrowed charisma.Remote work is eroding team joy in ways we're not measuring. The informal moments that build relationships and make work fun don't happen on Slack or in back-to-back video calls — and the resulting friction is real.Featured links  Incorruptible by Eric Ries — https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/460881/incorruptible-by-ries-eric/9780241692028The Decision Stack by Martin Eriksson — thedecisionstack.comChristian Idiodi — Silicon Valley Product GroupApril Dunford — aprildunford.comFind your local ProductTank — producttank.comMind the Product — mindtheproduct.comOur HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury's. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group's Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He's the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon's music stores in the US & UK.

Why do even good leaders succumb to corruption? This book summary reveals how financial gravity pulls companies toward unethical behavior.

Founders are told that if they work hard, build the right product and hire well, the outcome will follow. It's motivating. It's clean. And according to today's guest, it's mostly wrong.Mike Grossman has been CEO of six venture-backed Silicon Valley companies. Across them, he tried 18 different business models. Twelve failed. Five required layoffs. Three lived in persistent existential crisis. And yet all six were eventually acquired. Mike's story is one that far more founders actually live, but almost nobody tells.In this episode, Yaniv Bernstein sits down with Mike to dig into his new book, Failure Is An Option: a candid 44-essay collection drawn from three decades in the trenches. They explore the uncomfortable truth that luck dominates outcomes more than skill, why your business model is not your business, and how radical honesty is the most underrated leadership tool in a founder's kit.In this episode, you will:Learn about 'resulting': why confusing luck for skill costs founders in both directionsHear how Mike pivoted Tempo from building a Visa/Mastercard competitor to partnering with Mastercard, only to have the entire model wiped out overnight by a Senate amendmentDiscover the 'dreamers vs soldiers' framework for building teams that hold together when adversity strikesHear Mike's hard-won playbook for layoffs: why founders almost always cut too little, too late; what day two feels like; and why a smaller, denser team is often more productiveGet a clear framework for staying accountable for the process when the outcomes aren't in your controlTimestamps:00:00 Coming Up...00:34 On Today's Show: Mike Grossman on Managing Failure02:02 The Role of Luck and Timing03:41 Poker Strategy and 'Resulting'08:55 "The Business Model Is Not The Business"11:27 Tempo's Pivot13:28 Why Values Matter In A Crisis19:21 Talent Density and Layoffs: Cut Once, Cut Deep28:15 How AI Changes Hiring Pace32:15 Leading with 'Radical Honesty'36:33 Dreamers vs. Soldiers38:02 Managing Investors41:43 Luck, Agency, Process48:39 About 'Failure Is An Option'51:29 Closing ThoughtsResources mentioned'Failure Is An Option' by Mike Grossman: https://www.failureisanoption.comMike Grossman's Substack: https://failureisanoption.substack.comThinking in Bets by Annie Duke (the 'resulting' concept discussed): https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Bets-Making-Smarter-Decisions/dp/0735216355'Incorruptible' by Eric Ries: https://www.incorruptible.co/Eric Ries's TSP episode: https://youtu.be/HQ7cP1lGyiM 'Powerful' by Patty McCord: https://www.amazon.com/Powerful-Building-Culture-Freedom-Responsibility/dp/1939714095Patty McCord's TSP episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BefnNLBEmXAThe Durbin Amendment (the legislation that killed Tempo): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durbin_amendmentThe PactHonor the Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please:Follow, rate, and review us in your listening appSecure your official TSP merchandise at https://shop.tsp.show/Follow us here on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@startup-podcastGive us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media followingKey linksThis episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by .tech domains. Forget weird prefixes and creative misspellings; the availability for .tech domains is simply way better than .com. For a clean name that highlights your tech credentials, get a .tech domain at your favorite registrar.The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/Learn more about Chris and YanivWork 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthurAssistant Producer: Steph Hefferan https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph-heff/Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/

What if the way most companies are run today—chasing short-term profits, cutting corners, exploiting customers, and ignoring employee well-being—is actually the opposite of what creates lasting organizational success? Eric Ries, author of the bestselling The Lean Startup and in his new book, Incorruptible, has spent decades studying how organizations can thrive over the long term while genuinely improving the lives of employees, customers, and communities. In Incorruptible, he argues that the most enduring, high-performing companies are guided by a mission that advances human flourishing and a principled ethos that shapes every decision and action. These organizations resist shortcuts, prioritize employee well-being, and refuse to squeeze customers—proving that ethics and excellence are inseparable. Eric brings these ideas to life with vivid examples. He examines 3M, where a strong corporate ethos fueled groundbreaking innovation like Post-it Notes, and shows what happens when organizations like them abandon their guiding principles. He highlights Sol Price's Price Club, a discount retailer which built extraordinary success by treating employees and customers with care, and how that culture carried forward when Price Club merged with Costco, where Jim Sinegal continued the same principles at an even larger scale. The conversation dives into why so few companies pursue this “road less traveled,” the perils of short-term thinking, and how leaders, boards, and investors can embrace principled, long-term leadership. Eric also shares actionable insights for individual leaders who want to build an incorruptible culture within their own teams—even when systems often reward the opposite. For anyone who cares about creating workplaces where employees thrive, where all people are treated with respect and dignity, and where long-term success doesn't come at the expense of human well-being, this episode is packed with insights and practical lessons. Listen now to discover how incorruptible organizations are built, why they matter, and what it takes to lead with principles, purpose, and care in a world that too often values the opposite. The post Eric Ries: Why Most Companies Are Built to Fail appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

This is a recap of the top 10 posts on Hacker News on June 10, 2026. This podcast was generated by wondercraft.ai (00:30): macOS Container MachinesOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48469658&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(01:59): Building an HTML-first site doubled our users overnightOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48475483&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(03:28): German ruling declares Google liable for false answers in AI OverviewsOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48470248&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(04:57): πFSOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48480978&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(06:27): I'm Eric Ries, author of "The Lean Startup" and new book "Incorruptible" – AMAOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48477135&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(07:56): Mercedes‑Benz starts large‑scale production of electric axial flux motorOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48472877&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(09:25): PgDog is funded and coming to a database near youOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48476466&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(10:54): AWS Bedrock to require sharing data with Anthropic for Mythos and future modelsOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48473166&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(12:24): Chrome is looking to permanently drop MV2 extensionOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48471970&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(13:53): Claude Desktop spawns 1.8 GB Hyper-V VM on every launch, even for chat-only useOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48479452&utm_source=wondercraft_aiThis is a third-party project, independent from HN and YC. Text and audio generated using AI, by wondercraft.ai. Create your own studio quality podcast with text as the only input in seconds at app.wondercraft.ai. Issues or feedback? We'd love to hear from you: team@wondercraft.ai

Every once in a while a book comes along that doesn't just change your tactical thinking, but makes you see the world in a different way. Reading this book is like taking the red pill in the Matrix.

A founder builds something people trust. Customers love it. Employees believe in it. Investors are happy.Then, slowly, something changes.The targets shift. The incentives change. The message stays the same – but the behaviour doesn't.And trust starts to fade.In this episode, I sit down with Eric Ries @theericriesshow – author of Incorruptible and The Lean Startup – and one of the most influential thinkers in modern entrepreneurship. We talked about why so many companies start with strong values and drift over time – even when leaders care about doing the right thing.Eric shares powerful stories – from Cloudflare's “unspoken mission” to Sol Price, the father of modern retail, and the paradox of success that can make great companies vulnerable.One idea keeps coming back:Communication isn't just what you say.It's what people see repeated in decisions, incentives and trade-offs.We explore why mission statements often fail, why jargon weakens clarity, and why trust – not strategy, not growth, not even innovation – shapes long-term success.We also talk about what happens under pressure.Because that's where leadership communication is tested.What You'll Learn:* Why people believe what you reinforce, not just what you say * How to align your message with incentives and decisions* Why inconsistent signals weaken trust inside teams* How to communicate purpose so it holds under pressure* What leaders do differently when they build lasting trustIn This Episode:03:45 – The story behind Incorruptible08:21 – Why business jargon weakens communication09:17 – Cloudflare's unspoken mission17:47 – External pressure and “financial gravity”24:55 – When people stop believing your message25:30 – You can't command an organisation28:46 – Sol Price and the power of ethos34:29 – The paradox of success47:01 – Trust as the most underrated assetIf you lead a team, build a business or communicate ideas for a living, this episode will change how you think about communication.We hope you enjoy it! ———————Eric Ries:* Book website: https://www.incorruptible.co/ * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/ * X: https://x.com/ericries * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericriesactual/ * Newsletter: https://news.theleanstartup.com/ * Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow ———————IDEAS ON STAGE RESOURCES * Timeless Presenter & Confident Presenter (books) – free copy: https://bit.ly/claimyourbooks   * Business Presentation Revolution (book): https://www.ideasonstage.com/resources/books/business-presentation-revolution-book/ * The Confident Presenter Scorecard: https://ideasonstage.com/score * Free Web Class: https://www.ideasonstage.com/uk/events/   #IdeasOnStagePodcast #LeadershipCommunication #BusinessCommunication #OrganizationalCulture

The concept of "enshittification" has helped illuminate why companies and their products so often get worse over time, but the causes of this process are complex and multifaceted. In his new book Incorruptible, author Eric Ries presents a related but contrasting take on how good companies go bad, and how to build companies that resist the process. This week, Eric joins the podcast to talk all about the book and what we might be able to do to solve this problem. Get the book: https://www.incorruptible.co/

Why the best leaders treat uncertainty as a chance to learn, not a failure to avoid.Most companies are built to grow. Far fewer are built to stay true to their purpose as they do.Eric Ries is an entrepreneur, creator of the Lean Startup movement, and author of Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great. For Ries, innovation starts with a simple reality: nobody can predict the future. “If you're going to do something fundamentally new,” he says, “how are we supposed to forecast” what success will look like? Instead of relying on certainty, leaders should focus on learning. “If you cannot fail, you cannot learn.”In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Ries and host Matt Abrahams explore how leaders can communicate through uncertainty, turn setbacks into valuable insights, and build cultures rooted in trust. From the power of the build-measure-learn feedback loop to the importance of making “deposits” in a company's culture bank, Ries shares practical strategies for creating organizations that innovate, adapt, and stay true to their values as they grow.To listen to the extended Deep Thinks version of this episode, please visit FasterSmarter.io/premium.Episode Reference Links:Eric RiesEric's Book: IncorruptibleEp.56 Lean Messaging: How Simple Messages Really StickEp.54 Leadership and Ethics: How to Communicate Your Core Values  Connect:Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart PremiumEmail Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.ioEpisode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart WebsiteNewsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.ioThink Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTubeMatt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn Chapters:(00:00) - Introduction (02:21) - Lean Startup Fundamentals (04:03) - Business Plans vs. Reality (06:31) - Learning from Failure (08:11) - Why Companies Go Bad (10:49) - The Culture Bank (13:51) - The Final Three Questions (22:05) - Conclusion ********Thank you to our sponsors.  These partnerships support the ongoing production of the podcast, allowing us to bring it to you at no cost.Unleash your Superhuman potential with AI that meets you where you work. Learn more at superhuman.comJoin our Think Fast Talk Smart Learning Community and become the communicator you want to be. 

Eric Ries of the Lean Startup joins Nick to discuss The Hyper-Scaler CEO Whisperer and Founder of the Lean Startup Movement on Incorruptible Startups, Building to Thrive and Survive, and Creating a Governance Fortress. In this episode we cover: The Concept Behind "Incorruptible" The Story of Saul Price and FedMart The Governance Fortress and Legal Structures The Role of Mission-Driven Companies The Case of Novo Nordisk Advice for Founders The Importance of Mission-Driven Entrepreneurship Eric's Approach to Advice Guest Links: Eric's LinkedIn Eric's X Eric's Newsletter  Eric's Podcast The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.   Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

How do companies create entirely new markets—and why are the best organizations rethinking profit, trust, and corporate purpose? Join us for a thought-provoking conversation with Bruce Cleveland, author of Market Engineering, and Eric Ries, author of Incorruptible. We'll explore what “Market Engineering” really means and why companies must actively shape markets to stay ahead, why trust has become one of the most valuable assets an organization can build, and how mission-driven companies outperform during times of disruption. We'll also discuss why the era of shareholder primacy is being challenged, what comes next for corporate leadership, and how AI governance, healthcare, climate markets, and corporate accountability are reshaping the future of business. If you care about the future of leadership, innovation, and building enduring companies in the AI era, you won't want to miss this one.

In this episode of The Brainy Business podcast, Melina Palmer welcomes Eric Ries, the renowned author of The Lean Startup and his latest book, Incorruptible. Together, they explore the complexities of building sustainable organizations that resist the corrosive forces of financial gravity and short-term thinking. Eric shares compelling stories of well-intentioned founders whose visions were undermined by systemic pressures, revealing the hidden incentives that can lead companies astray. Listeners will gain insights into the concept of financial gravity and how it shapes behavior within organizations, often pulling them away from their original missions. Eric discusses the importance of aligning corporate governance with values that prioritize long-term success over immediate profits. He also highlights innovative companies that have successfully navigated these challenges by implementing structures designed to promote integrity and mission alignment. This episode is essential for founders, leaders, and anyone interested in creating organizations that can thrive sustainably. Eric's insights will inspire you to rethink the rules of the game and consider how you can build a company that remains true to its values while achieving lasting success. In this episode: Understand the concept of financial gravity and its impact on organizational behavior. Learn about the systemic pressures that can lead well-intentioned founders astray. Explore the importance of aligning corporate governance with long-term values. Discover examples of companies successfully resisting financial gravity. Gain actionable insights on how to build a sustainable and mission-driven organization. Get important links, top recommended books and episodes, and a full transcript at thebrainybusiness.com/XXX. Get important links, top recommended books and episodes, and a full transcript at thebrainybusiness.com/XXX. Looking to explore applications of behavioral economics further?  Learn With Us on our website. Subscribe to Melina's Newsletter Brainy Bites.  Let's connect: Send Us a Message Follow Melina on LinkedIn The Brainy Business on Youtube The Brainy Business on Instagram Learn With Us on our website. Subscribe to Melina's Newsletter Brainy Bites. 

Fresh out of the studio, Eric Ries — author of the new book Incorruptible, founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange, co-founder of Answer.AI, and author of The Lean Startup — joins Bernard Leong to discuss his blueprint for building mission-controlled companies that resist financial gravity. Eric explains why trustworthiness is the most underrated asset in business and why success, far from being a shield, makes companies a target worth capturing. He walks through the governance fortresses that have kept Costco, Novo Nordisk, and Patagonia true to mission for decades, and argues that today's so-called best practices have destroyed billions in shareholder value. The conversation turns to AI: which parts of the Lean Startup it accelerates, which parts it cannot, and why validated learning still lives only between the ears. Eric closes with a radical redefinition of profit as the maximization of human flourishing, and a challenge to Asia-Pacific leaders to leapfrog the governance failures the West is about to live through."We're helping people create this asset and we're teaching them the wrong idea. We're teaching them that success will protect them. But that's backwards. Success makes you a target worth capturing. And so that explained to me all these companies I saw that failed—not because they went out of business, not because they failed to create value, they failed because of their success." - Eric RiesProfile: Eric Ries, Founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange, co-founder of Answer.AI, and author of The Lean Startup. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/ Personal Site: https://www.incorruptible.co/ Episode Highlights: [00:00] Quote of the Day by Eric Ries from *Incorruptible*[00:45] Introduction: Eric Ries, author of "Incorriptible" & "The Lean Startup"[01:11] Pulling the thread from programming to accountability[03:12] Lean Startup built companies; didn't teach protection[05:15] The billionaire dancing alone at the party[06:09] Trustworthiness: business's most underrated asset[07:18] Why success makes you a target[08:19] Today's best practices destroy value[09:19] Costco's governance fortress defends customer experience[09:54] Novo Nordisk's 100-year foundation structure[11:12] AI and the Lean Startup on steroids[14:09] MVP advantage dies when everyone has AI[15:39] The professor with the dangerous biotech breakthrough[17:13] Investors revealed as amoral actors[18:13] The builder's intuition: create then capture value[20:52] Protecting research from capital's gravitational pull[23:30] Organizations are literally alive[25:26] More humans, worse collective problem-solving[25:46] Moral character as an emergent property[27:25] Current profit definition has fatal blind spots[30:13] Hitman marketplace: humans as input factor[32:29] Surrogation: the measurement becomes the target[33:51] The pre-IPO team laughing after CEO leaves[36:36] Vatican conference on AI governance[38:00] Emperor-for-life founders carry impossible burden[41:31] Best practices young; ancient wisdom forgotten[44:40] ClosingPodcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast.Analyse Podcast Main Site: https://analysepodcast.comSign Up for Our This Week in Asia Newsletter: https://www.analysepodcast.com/#/portal/signup Subscribe Newsletter on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7149559878934540288

How small business owners can build mission-driven companies that earn trust, create long-term value, and avoid the traps that cause good businesses to lose their way. Show Notes Page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/609-eric-ries-incorruptible/ What causes good companies to go bad? According to Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup and his new book Incorruptible, it often begins when organizations lose sight of their true mission and start making decisions based solely on short-term financial results. In this episode, Henry Lopez speaks with Eric Ries about how entrepreneurs can build businesses that stay true to their purpose as they grow. Eric shares why mission is much more than a statement on a wall, how trust becomes a powerful competitive advantage, and why governance structures matter even for small businesses. They discuss real-world examples from companies like Cloudflare, Patagonia, Costco, and Taylor Guitars, exploring how organizations can make principled decisions that strengthen trust and create long-term value. Eric also explains why profit is often misunderstood and how business owners can think differently about profitability, purpose, and organizational longevity. The conversation concludes with Eric's thoughts on how AI is accelerating entrepreneurship and why founders who move quickly, learn rapidly, and remain grounded in their mission will be best positioned for the future. Whether you're launching a startup, leading a growing company, or planning for succession, this episode offers valuable insights on building a business that endures. Eric Ries is an entrepreneur, author, and creator of the Lean Startup methodology. His work on innovation, entrepreneurship, governance, and long-term company building has influenced founders and business leaders around the world. He is the bestselling author of The Lean Startup, The Startup Way, and Incorruptible. This episode is hosted by Henry Lopez. The How of Business podcast focuses on helping you start, run, grow and exit your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, small business coaching, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com

What if the biggest threat to your company is not competition, but the systems everyone told you to trust?In this episode, Alisa Cohn sits down with Eric Ries, creator of the Lean Startup methodology and bestselling author of The Lean Startup, The Startup Way, and Incorruptible, for a conversation about leadership, corporate governance, innovation, and why so many modern companies lose their way as they grow.Eric unpacks the dangerous side of “best practices,” why shareholder primacy often destroys long-term value, and how financial pressure quietly reshapes company culture from the inside out. He also shares the untold story behind Costco's governance model, why Anthropic's structure matters in the AI race, and what founders misunderstand about speed, alignment, and leadership integrity.You'll learn:Why many “best practices” are actually value destroyingWhat Eric Ries means by “financial gravity”How companies lose their mission after founders lose controlWhy Costco became one of the strongest governance models in businessThe hidden danger of shareholder primacyWhy trustworthiness may be the most underrated asset in businessHow Lean Startup was misunderstood by most foundersThe real purpose behind MVPs and rapid experimentationWhy principles create faster companies, not slower onesHow aligned teams move faster with less management overheadWhat Anthropic is doing differently with AI governanceWhy constraints often create breakthrough innovationThe leadership lesson Eric learned from nearly compromising his own principlesHow founders can build companies their grandchildren will be proud ofWe talk about:00:00 Why Eric Ries says builders are “under siege”02:00 The hidden problem with modern business “best practices”05:00 Why shareholder primacy destroys long-term companies08:00 The untold Costco and Sol Price story12:00 How Costco built a governance fortress16:00 Understanding “financial gravity” inside organizations19:00 Why Costco shareholders defended leadership decisions22:00 The problem with management entrenchment24:00 Why corporations should function more like balanced systems26:00 Anthropic's governance structure and AI leadership30:00 Why checks and balances do not kill innovation32:00 The real philosophy behind Lean Startup35:00 Why principles create speed inside organizations38:00 The overlooked role of trust and alignment40:00 Why great leaders intentionally make things harder42:00 The danger of compromising on core values44:00 Eric's hardest leadership decision46:00 What founders misunderstand about success and power47:00 How to build companies designed to last generationsFollow Eric onLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/Website: https://theleanstartup.com/ Connect with Alisa!Follow Alisa Cohn on Instagram: @alisacohnTwitter: @alisacohnFacebook: facebook.com/alisa.cohnLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisacohn/Website: http://www.alisacohn.comDownload her 5 scripts for delicate conversations (and 1 to make your life better) Grab a copy of From Start-Up to Grown-Up by Alisa Cohn from Amazon

Eric Ries, who helped so many entrepreneurs build phenomenally successful businesses based on his Lean Startup philosophy, is back with a new book called Incorruptible. The book explains why some companies succeed over the long term, while others wither. I asked him to tell us the stories of the AI companies he’s worked with and studied, and talk about how he used AI help him research his book. Eric Ries is the entrepreneur and author behind The Lean Startup, one of the most influential startup books of the last decade. He has advised founders and companies around the world on innovation, long-term thinking, and organizational design, and he also helped shape governance structures for mission-driven AI companies like Anthropic. Sponsored byZapier More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

Eric Ries is the entrepreneur and author of The Lean Startup, whose work helped software founders validate ideas faster and build companies without making huge bets upfront. After years helping startups, large companies, and governments apply Lean Startup principles, Eric built the Long-Term Stock Exchange and turned his attention to a bigger question: Why do so many successful companies lose their way?   In our conversation, Eric explains the idea of "financial gravity"—the hidden force that pushes companies toward short-term financial thinking as they grow. He shares cautionary stories of companies like Whole Foods, Johnson & Johnson, Silicon Valley Bank, and Costco to show how scaling, investors, boards, and even employees can gradually erode trust, mission, and long-term value.   Eric's new book, Incorruptible Why Good Companies Go Bad…and How Great Companies Stay Great, offers practical ways founders can protect the soul of their companies before it's too late--even when they don't have big outside investors. He explains why founders should explicitly codify their mission into governance structures, why trust is the most underrated asset in business, and how practical founders can retain optionality while building valuable companies that endure. Drawing on two decades of work with founders, CEOs, and investors, Eric Ries reveals the forces that make companies vulnerable to destruction from within and without. Then he offers solutions that safeguard against them for the long-term. Incorruptible is the blueprint for companies that will prosper and endure without losing their soul. Key Takeaways Financial Gravity - Every growing company faces pressure toward short-term financial thinking—even without outside investors. Trust Compounds - Companies that earn trust with customers and employees often outperform financially over the long term. Founder Regret - Many founders regret selling because the mission, culture, and soul of the company disappear. Mission Protection - Values on a wall aren't enough—founders need legal and governance structures to preserve mission. Question Best Practices - Many accepted business practices optimize short-term profits while destroying long-term value. Think Long-Term - Practical founders have more optionality when they intentionally design companies to endure. Quote from Eric Ries, Author of the Lean Startup "People have woken up to this reality. Given where we're at, if you can create a bootstrap company, if you can maintain control, it doesn't make you completely safe. The problem is actually not investors, but financial thinking.  "So I tell a bunch of stories in my book (Incorruptible)  of companies where the issue wasn't investors, but their own employees. You start to bring in professional managers. You start to bring in a CFO, and the CFO has that extractive mindset, or even worse. "Financial gravity is one of the most underrated concepts in business. It is like trying to direct our attention away from the surface characteristics of an organization to the deeper forces that act on it. Your  business model, strategy, vision, culture, these things are very important, but they are the things that we have control over. Financial gravity is a force." Links Eric Ries on LinkedIn Eric Ries on Twitter Eric Ries Podcast Incorruptible book on Amazon Podcast Sponsor – Lighter Capital This podcast is sponsored by Lighter Capital. In the last 15 years, Lighter Capital has helped over 600 software and SaaS founders secure simple, non-dilutive financing to grow a little faster—without giving up any precious equity or board seats to investors.  Simple debt funding from Lighter Capital can range from $50K to $10 million, with straightforward terms, no personal guarantees or covenants, and up to a 4-year payback period. Go to LighterCapital.com to apply and get a quick pre-qualification. Then talk with their experienced team to create a practical funding plan to achieve your goals.  The Practical Founders Podcast Tune into the Practical Founders Podcast for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app or view on our YouTube channel. Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at practicalfounders.com. Practical Founders CEO Peer Groups Be part of a committed and confidential group of practical founders creating valuable software companies without big VC funding.  A Practical Founders Peer Group is a committed and confidential group of founders/CEOs who want to help you succeed on your terms. Each Practical Founders Peer Group is personally curated and moderated by Greg Head.

This week on the Do Good to Lead Well podcast, I sit down with bestselling author Eric Ries for a timely and thought-provoking conversation about leadership, mission, and the growing crisis of short-term thinking in business.Eric first transformed the entrepreneurial world with The Lean Startup. In his latest book, Incorruptible, he tackles a new challenge: why so many organizations lose sight of their purpose, compromise their values, and drift away from the very mission that made them successful in the first place.Together, we explore why many traditional business “best practices” are no longer serving leaders, employees, or society — and what it takes to build organizations that can withstand the pressures of short-term performance, protect trust, and stay anchored in their values over time.Through powerful stories, real-world examples, and surprising data, listeners learn how organizations can defend their mission, outlast competitors, and resist the economic “gravity” that pulls so many companies into compromise. From redefining profit as human flourishing to making trust and love into competitive advantages, the episode offers a blueprint for building companies that not only succeed financially, but endure.Whether you're a founder determined to preserve your mission, or an executive seeking to build a culture of integrity, this episode is packed with practical guidance and inspiration. Tune in to discover what it truly means to become an incorruptible force for the good of your business and the good of humanity.What You'll Learn- The perils of “best practices.”- Corruption isn't just a crime – It's losing your purpose.- How the moral logic of capitalism has been lost.- Redefining profit: Maximizing human flourishing.- Mission (not money) makes companies endure.- Trust and love are competitive advantages.- Governance isn't boring. It's your organization's DNA.- Does growth kill mission? The risk is real. The reality does not have to be.- You can build incorruptible companies: An evidence-based business case.Podcast Timestamps(00:00) - A Special Topic and Guest(01:49) - From the Lean Start-up to Incorruptible(04:07) - Defining and Diagnosing Corruption(08:32) - The Moral Logic of Capitalism and Value Creation(13:03) - Redefining Profit and Human Flourishing(19:15) - Mission Drift and Protecting Organizational Purpose(22:01) - Outliers: Exceptional Companies and New Best Practices(25:29) - Financial Gravity, Longevity, and Employee Ownership(30:00) - Trust as Organizational Currency(34:23) - The Long Term Stock Exchange and Long-Termism(35:20) - Love, People-First Leadership, and Real Competitive Advantage(41:23) - Governance, Board Dynamics, and Creating Incorruptible Organizations(44:46) - Lessons from Case Studies: Zita Cobb and Beyond(49:16) - Closing Reflections and Practical ResourcesKEYWORDSPositive Leadership, Incorruptible, Integrity, Do Good to Lead Well, Long Term Thinking, Effective Governance, Market Reform, Lean Startup Method, Company Culture, Avoiding Short Term Thinking, Corruption, Capitalism, Value Creation, Shareholder Primacy, Business Ethics, Corporate Mission, Profit Redefinition, Human Flourishing, Stakeholder Alignment, Organizational Trust, Financial Gravity, Mission Controlled Companies, Organizational Character, CEO Success

What if the corruption of great companies isn't an ethics problem at all — but a design problem?  In this episode of the Balancing Act podcast, Andy speaks with Eric Ries — creator of the Lean Startup methodology, and New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way. His new book, Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great, argues that corporate corruption is not primarily ethical — it is structural — and offers a practical blueprint for organizations that can grow, prosper, and endure without losing their soul.  Eric revisits the Lean Startup methodology fifteen years after its publication — what's changed, what's been distorted, and how he thinks about the MVP, the pivot, and the build-measure-learn loop today.  Tune in to episode 247 to hear Eric's rocket-booster moment, his mentorship moment for the chief product officer trying to adopt Lean Startup at scale, and his closing reflection on equanimity as one of the most underrated attributes of the entrepreneurial journey. AndrewTemte.com

In an era of relentless pressure for quarterly growth, is it even possible for a large brand to stay true to its core mission, or is compromising a brand's values just an inevitable part of achieving scale?Agility requires more than just reacting quickly to market changes. It requires a resilient, long-term mission that acts as a north star, ensuring that every pivot and experiment builds enduring value, not just short-term gains.Today, we're going to talk about the tension that every marketing leader feels: the conflict between the relentless demand for measurable, short-term results and the need to build a brand with a durable, long-term mission. We'll explore how the very systems designed to measure success can sometimes corrupt a company's purpose, and how a new definition of value can create a strategic advantage that outlasts fleeting market trends.To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Eric Ries, Author of The Lean Startup, and the new book, Incorruptible. About Eric Ries Over the last two decades, Eric Ries's ideas about continuous innovation, long-term thinking, governance, and market reform have reshaped company building and management practices. He is the creator of the Lean Startup method, and the author of the New York Times bestseller The Lean Startup; The Leader's Guide; and The Startup Way. As a founder, he has put his own ideas into practice with The Long-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE); Answer.AI, an AI R&D lab; the Lean Startup Co, which teaches and supports the implementation of Lean Startup; Virgil, a legal services startup; and IMVU, where the ideas that became the Lean Startup method were forged. On his podcast, The Eric Ries Show, he talks to guests including world-class technologists, thought leaders, and executives working to build profitable companies for the long-term benefit of society. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and three children. Eric Ries on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/ ---------- Resources ---------- The Lean Startup: https://www.leanstartup.co The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://aglbrnd.co/r/2868abd8085a9703 Get Incorruptible by Eric Ries: https://amzn.to/4dERCRyDrive your customers to new horizons at the premier retail event of the year for Retail and Brand marketers. Learn more at CRMC 2026, June 1-3. https://aglbrnd.co/r/d15ec37a537c0d74 We're proud to be a media partner for #MAICON26 - Oct. 13-15! Learn how AI can power your marketing and business and help you grow smarter. Use code AGILE150 to save! https://aglbrnd.co/r/7fe458ced0f04658Reach your customers with Reddit. Spend $500 in ad spend, get $500 back in ad credit! Learn more: https://advertalize.com/r/491818c79fb1873fDon't miss We Make Future - the International Festival of Innovation in AI, Tech, and Digital Marketing, June 24-26 in Bologna. Learn more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/c80991afff416bb2The most influential minds in software, AI, and engineering leadership will be at WeAreDevelopers World Congress North America, September 23-25 in San Jose. Learn more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/60a7299222a7bcf1 Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://aglbrnd.co/r/faaed112fc9887f3 Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/35ded3ccfb6716ba Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eric Ries, author of Incorruptible, talks about how to stay focused on a missionSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when the author of The Lean Startup starts questioning the very system that built Silicon Valley? In this episode of Remarkable People, Eric Ries joins Guy Kawasaki to unpack the ideas behind his new book, Incorruptible, and explain why so many great companies lose their soul as they grow. Eric explores corruption in modern business, the dangers of shareholder primacy, and why companies like Costco and Novo Nordisk have resisted the pressures that break other organizations. He also shares how founders can build structures that protect trust, mission, and long-term thinking from the start. If you've ever wondered whether companies can scale without selling out, this conversation will challenge the way you think about capitalism, leadership, and innovation.--Guy Kawasaki is on a mission to make you remarkable. His Remarkable People podcast features interviews with remarkable people such as Jane Goodall, Marc Benioff, Woz, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Bob Cialdini. Every episode will make you more remarkable.With his decades of experience in Silicon Valley as a Venture Capitalist and advisor to the top entrepreneurs in the world, Guy's questions come from a place of curiosity and passion for technology, start-ups, entrepreneurship, and marketing. If you love society and culture, documentaries, and business podcasts, take a second to follow Remarkable People.Listeners of the Remarkable People podcast will learn from some of the most successful people in the world with practical tips and inspiring stories that will help you be more remarkable.Episodes of Remarkable People organized by topic: https://bit.ly/rptopologyListen to Remarkable People here: **https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/guy-kawasakis-remarkable-people/id1483081827**

Most founders start with the best intentions. And then somewhere along the way — without noticing — the company they've built becomes something they're ashamed of. Not because they're bad people. But because nobody taught them how to prevent it. Eric Ries wrote The Lean Startup — the book that changed how Silicon Valley thinks about building companies. His new book, Incorruptible, tackles the question that comes next: how do you build a company that makes money without destroying the thing that made it worth building in the first place? In this episode, Sophia Matveeva speaks with Eric about the practical techniques any founder can use today — no revolution in how business works required. Listen to learn: Why investors are not your bosses — and what happens when you treat them like they are How the most successful mission-driven companies are structured so they cannot make money any other way except by achieving their mission Why doing the right thing by your customers and employees is often the highest ROI decision you can make — just not on a short-term spreadsheet Eric also shares the story of a Texas grocery store that told customers to take their shopping home for free during an ice storm — and what that decision reveals about what it actually means to build with integrity. Resource mentioned in this episode: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries — covered on episode 111 Lessons from the Lean Start-Up by Eric Reis --- Ready to build your tech venture the right way? Book a call: https://calendly.com/sophia-matveeva/new-meeting Timestamps:  00:00 - Introduction: The ice storm story - When HEB gave away groceries 02:53 - How every founder starts with good intentions but ends up somewhere else 05:05 - Mission-driven vs mission-hopeful: What actually counts 08:18 - Costco's governance fortress and violating "best practices" 10:55 - Long-term vs short-term: Maximizing human flourishing 14:04 - Why business founders have a bad reputation 17:41 - Investors are not your bosses - The fundamental mistake 21:52 - The AI insurance startup hiding their nonprofit foundation 25:08 - The HEB ice storm story: When doing right pays off 28:45 - Closing and resources Free AI Mini-Workshop for Non-Technical Founders: Learn how to go from idea to a tested product using AI — in under 30 minutes. Get free access here: https://www.techfornontechies.co/aiclass Follow and Review: We'd love for you to follow us if you haven't yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Listen to our podcast on: Apple Spotify YouTube Audible Pandora Transcript: https://www.techfornontechies.co/blog/305-how-to-build-a-company-you-re-proud-of-with-eric-ries

What if the way we think about business value, trust, and capitalism itself is fundamentally broken? Eric Ries' The Lean Startup changed how a generation of entrepreneurs build companies. Now, Ries takes aim at some of the most sacred business assumptions today in his new book, Incorruptible. Ries joins Rapid Response to share what he witnessed firsthand in the clash between Anthropic and the US government, and why he believes the current system is failing the very people it's supposed to serve. He also brings in-the-trenches stories from Cloudflare, Novo Nordisk, and Whole Foods to make the case that courage, not capital, may be the most undervalued asset in business right now.Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if the very success of your company is what eventually destroys it? Eric Ries, the mind behind the Lean Startup movement, is back with a warning every founder, leader, and employee needs to hear. In his new book Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great, Eric tackles the question he admits he failed to answer the first time around: once you build something worth protecting, how do you actually protect it? In this conversation with host Brandon Laws, Eric unpacks the invisible force he calls "financial gravity," the systemic pull that quietly bends companies away from their mission. You'll hear the jaw-dropping story of Saul Price (the man Sam Walton credited as the father of modern retail), the real reason Costco still sells a hot dog and soda for $1.50, and why protecting your company's values is always "too early," until suddenly it's too late. If you care about building a business that means something, this episode is essential listening. Key Timestamps [00:00:00] — Welcome & episode intro; overview of Eric Ries and Incorruptible [00:01:30] — Why Eric wrote this book: the personal pain of watching great companies get hollowed out — and what The Lean Startup missed [00:04:00] — Ordinary failure vs. unusual failure: why success itself is often the cause of collapse [00:05:30] — The legend of Saul Price: the father of modern retail, his "fiduciary duty to the customer" philosophy, and what happened when investors changed the locks on his office [00:11:00] — The ultimate A/B test: Fed Mart's destruction vs. the rise of Costco — and what it proves about ethos + governance [00:14:30] — Redefining corruption: it's not just illegal behavior — it's any act that destroys the moral logic of business [00:17:30] — Organizations as superorganisms: why founders can wake up and not recognize the company they built [00:21:30] — Financial gravity explained: the force that pulls every company toward mediocrity (and how to fight it) [00:25:00] — Why protecting your mission is always "too early" until it's too late — and what happens to founders who wait [00:29:30] — The $1.50 hot dog: Costco's legendary promise to customers, why Jim Senegal said "figure it out" — and what that cost them [00:35:00] — Mission statement vs. actual mission: how companies like CloudFlare engineer their values into their business model [00:40:30] — Transmitting the mission: Costco's food safety program, civic infrastructure, and what it means to truly stand for something [00:43:30] — Where to find Eric Ries and how to get Incorruptible A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, sponsored by Xenium HR Host: Brandon Laws In Brandon's own words: "The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders." About Xenium HR Xenium HR is on a mission to transform workplaces by providing expert outsourced HR and payroll services for small and medium-sized businesses. With a people-first approach, Xenium helps organizations create thriving work environments where employees feel valued and supported. From navigating compliance to enhancing workplace culture, Xenium offers tailored solutions that empower growth and simplify HR. Whether managing employee relations, payroll processing, or implementing impactful training programs, Xenium is the trusted partner businesses rely on to elevate their workplace experience. Discover how Xenium can transform your workplace: Learn more Connect with Brandon Laws LinkedIn | Instagram | About Connect with Xenium HR Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Eric Ries changed how a generation of founders build companies with The Lean Startup. Now he is back with Incorruptible, a blueprint for making sure the company you build never betrays the mission that made it worth building in the first place. In this episode, Eric breaks down the invisible force he calls financial gravity, the force that quietly pulls even the most well-intentioned companies toward short-term thinking and eventual corruption. You will hear the real story behind building the Long-Term Stock Exchange, why only 20% of venture-backed founders are still CEO three years after an IPO, and the one two-page legal filing that could protect everything you are building. If you are a founder, an operator, or anyone who cares about doing business the right way, this conversation will change how you think about building for the long term.Chapters:0:00 - Eric Ries on Building Companies That Never Lose Their Soul 1:22 - Did Eric Know The Lean Startup Would Change the World? 3:17 - The Origin of the Title of His New Book, "Incorruptible"5:30 - Rapid Fire #1: Most Humbling Setback as a Founder 6:07 - Rapid Fire #2: How Do You Decide What Is a Priority When Everything Feels Urgent 11:10 - Rapid Fire #3: How Do You Decide What to Track With KPIs 14:47 - Rapid Fire #4: The One Tool You Cannot Live Without 16:40 - Rapid Fire #5: When Did You Last Want to Give Up But Did Not 18:26 - Why Eric Finally Wrote "Incorruptible" 22:49 - Why Corporate Corruption Is Getting Worse Not Better 26:52 - Value Destroying vs. Value Creating: The Sol Price and Costco Story 36:25 - How Founders Avoid Becoming Corrupt as They Scale 40:06 - The One Action Every Founder Should Take Today 45:30 - What Got Cut from the Book and Where to Find It 47:22 - Where to Find Eric Ries and How to Get Incorruptiblehttps://www.incorruptible.co/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/X: https://x.com/ericriesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericriesactual/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ericriesactualNewsletter: https://news.theleanstartup.com/Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow or https://www.ericriesshow.com/

Over the last two decades, Eric Ries's ideas about continuous innovation, long-term thinking, governance, and market reform have reshaped company building and management practices. He is the creator of the Lean Startup method, and the author of the New York Times bestseller The Lean Startup; The Leader's Guide; and The Startup Way.  As a founder, he has put his own ideas into practice with The Long-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE); Answer.AI, an AI R&D lab; the Lean Startup Co, which teaches and supports the implementation of Lean Startup; Virgil, a legal services startup; and IMVU, where the ideas that became the Lean Startup method were forged. On his podcast, The Eric Ries Show, he talks to guests including world-class technologists, thought leaders, and executives working to build profitable companies for the long-term benefit of society. Eric has served as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Harvard Business School and IDEO. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and three children. This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business. Resources mentioned in this episode include: Incorruptable site Miyoko Awarepreneurs interview The Lean Startup site Long Term Stock Exchange site Paul's Strategy Sessions Pitch an Awarepreneurs episode  

Most UX practitioners have spent their careers fighting for the user — pushing back against dark patterns, advocating for quality, and insisting that making things better for people is also better for the business. Eric Ries would say that instinct is exactly right. And that it's not enough.In this episode, host Laura Klein talks with Eric Ries — New York Times Best Selling Author of The Lean Startup and founder of the Long Term Stock Exchange — about his new book, Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad...and How Great Companies Stay Great. Eric makes the case that most of today's business best practices are actively value-destroying, and that the builders, designers, and makers who already believe product quality matters are more revolutionary than they realize — they just lack the tools to protect that belief inside their organizations.They dig into the history of shareholder primacy, why corporate governance is something every practitioner should understand, and the very specific questions you can ask in a job interview to find out whether a company is genuinely mission-driven or just mission-hopeful.About Eric Ries | LinkedinThe Eric Ries ShowIncorruptible (New Book) - Available Now!The Lean Start Up (Book)Related NN/G Articles & VideosUX Stakeholder Engagement 101Deceptive Patterns in UX: How to Recognize and Avoid ThemFour Factors in UX MaturityUX Maturity Is a Living System, Not a LadderUXers Need to Think Like Product LeadersTry One of Our Courses→ Becoming a UX Strategist (Live Online)→ Successful Stakeholder Relationships (Live Online)→ Lean UX and Agile (Live Online)→ Demonstrating UX Value (Self-Paced)→ UX Maturity: Elevating Organizational UX Practices (Self-Paced)Don't forget to like and subscribe! ❤️Follow Us On:NewsletterInstagramThreadsLinkedinBlueskyX

What if the way we think about business value, trust, and capitalism itself is fundamentally broken? Eric Ries' The Lean Startup changed how a generation of entrepreneurs build companies. Now, Ries takes aim at some of the most sacred business assumptions today in his new book, Incorruptible. Ries joins Rapid Response to share what he witnessed firsthand in the clash between Anthropic and the US government, and why he believes the current system is failing the very people it's supposed to serve. He also brings in-the-trenches stories from Cloudflare, Novo Nordisk, and Whole Foods to make the case that courage, not capital, may be the most undervalued asset in business right now.Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Eric Ries had a 40-page business plan. An Excel model so complicated it would crash Excel. A team of elite students, real investors, and a working product. What he didn't have was a strategy -- and he didn't realize it until after the startup collapsed. Episode page with video, links, and more The moment of clarity came in a Boston job interview. A panel of consultants asked what he'd learned. He gave them practical tips. They told him that wasn't strategy. Sitting there, he realized he didn't actually know what the word meant. That category error -- mistaking a polished plan for a strategy -- is the mistake that eventually became The Lean Startup. In this episode, Eric traces the line from that dorm-room failure to his new book, Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great. He argues that many of the so-called best practices founders are trained to follow aren't pillars of capitalism at all -- they're modern inventions with a poor track record. We get into the Whole Foods unraveling and why John Mackey couldn't simply cut prices, the prehistory of Costco through Sol Price's fiduciary duty to the customer, and what Jim Sinegal built into Costco's governance that has held for four CEOs and forty years. We also look at Novo Nordisk's industrial foundation structure -- a hundred-year-old design that makes companies six times more likely to survive fifty years -- and why most founders have never heard of it. A conversation about strategy, structure, and the quiet ways good companies go bad.

When Eric Ries built his first startup, he believed he had the perfect plan. But when no customers showed up, the business collapsed, exposing a costly truth: being certain does not make you right. That failure forced him to rethink his assumptions and ultimately led him to develop the Lean Startup method, a new way of building companies grounded in testing, learning, and truth. In this episode, Eric chats with Ilana about why most startups fail before they even launch, how to test ideas early to uncover what actually works, and how leaders can build companies that scale without losing their values. Eric Ries is an entrepreneur, author, and startup strategist best known for creating The Lean Startup methodology, a framework that helps founders build businesses through rapid experimentation and continuous iteration.  In this episode, Ilana and Eric will discuss: (00:00) Introduction (02:57) How His Childhood Curiosity Led Him to Computers (08:55) Dropping Out of Yale to Chase a Startup Dream (13:01) The Harsh Reality of the Entrepreneurship Fantasy (14:53) Why Silicon Valley Loves Failed Startups (19:37) Building, Scaling, and Leaving IMVU (23:09) Reinventing Your Identity After Loss (27:10) Tuning Out Bad Advice and Hearing What Matters (30:40) Using Negative Feedback to Fuel Growth (39:11) The Groundbreaking Lean Startup Philosophy (46:13) The Worldwide Resistance to Innovation (51:28) The Controversial Idea Behind Incorruptible (57:18) The Entrepreneurial Near-Death Experience  Eric Ries is an entrepreneur, author, and thought leader best known for creating the Lean Startup methodology, which transformed how startups and large companies build products. He is the founder of Long-Term Stock Exchange and has advised founders, executives, and organizations around the world on innovation, leadership, and long-term growth. Connect with Eric: Eric's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/eries    Eric's X: x.com/ericries  Resources Mentioned: Eric's Book, The Lean Startup: https://www.amazon.in/dp/0307887898  Eric's Book, Incorruptible: https://www.incorruptible.co/  Lean Startup Website: leanstartup.co/   Leap Academy: Ready to make the LEAP in your career? There is a NEW WAY for professionals to fast-track their careers and leap to bigger opportunities.  Check out our free training today at https://bit.ly/leap--free-training

In Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great, Eric Ries argues that mission-driven companies face an invisible pressure that pushes them toward short-termism and conformity, no matter the intentions of their stakeholders.Ries is the best-selling author of The Lean Startup, founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange, and advisor to startups around the globe. In his new book, he traces a recurring pattern across two centuries of business: principled founders build something exceptional, only to watch it be corrupted—not by greedy individuals, but by systemic forces baked into how capitalism is structured.In his conversation with Adam Job, senior director at the BCG Henderson Institute, Ries discusses how corporate corruption starts, why shareholder primacy became the norm, the concept of financial gravity, and the structural protections companies can put in place to defend their mission.Key topics discussed: 01:09 | How corporate corruption starts03:50 | The rise of shareholder primacy08:18 | Why mission-driven companies outperform but don't dominate11:06 | Are private equity and activist investors always destructive?15:31 | Financial gravity: the invisible force that pulls companies off course19:31 | Structural defenses: purpose, coherence, and integrity27:06 | Can mature companies still be corrupted or still protect themselves?31:14 | What Eric Ries would add to The Lean Startup if he couldAdditional inspirations from Eric Ries:The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses (Crown Currency, 2011)

The Learning Leader Show with Ryan Hawk Read my NEW BOOK -- The Price of Becoming -  www.LearningLeader.com/Becoming Eric Ries is the author of The Lean Startup, one of the most influential business books of the past 25 years, and the founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange, the first new U.S. exchange to both list and trade multiple stocks since NASDAQ launched 50 years ago. His new book is Incorruptible. Key Learnings The more successful a company becomes, the more valuable it is as a target. Companies are worth stealing and taking over. Most founders are naive about this and don't understand what's coming for them. They've been following the so-called best practices about how companies should be built, structured, and governed. Most of those best practices are value-destroying. Sol Price was a lawyer before he became an entrepreneur. He believed a lawyer had a fiduciary duty to put the client's interests before his own. So when he became a retailer, he asked: "Who's my client?" The customer. He treated the customer as the person he would rather die than betray. When competitors sold a product for less, he'd put up signs in his own store: "Don't buy this from me. You can get it cheaper somewhere else." He capped his margins at 14 percent. He paid above-market wages. It is so much easier to destroy than to create. One day, Sol came into work and couldn't get into his office because the locks had been changed. Investors had pushed him out and forced Fedmart to practice retail best practices. Within seven years, they bankrupted the company. We've built an economy that rewards people for cost-cutting without holding them accountable for the consequences to trustworthiness, brand, or culture. The origin story of Costco: Sol took two weeks off, then leased the office upstairs from Fedmart and started Price Club. One of the young guys who left with him, Jim Sinegal, had worked his way up from stock boy. Jim eventually started his own company using the Sol ethos. A few years later, their companies merged to form what we now call Costco. Wall Street routinely calls Costco the exception to every rule. Wall Street analysts say things like: "At Costco, they take money that rightfully belongs to shareholders and instead invest it in the customer experience." As if that's a criticism. Costco endures because it's protected by a governance fortress. A series of worst practices that resist outside pressure structurally. The $1.50 hot dog has been the same price since 1986. A McDonald's Big Mac was $1.60 in 1986. Today that same Big Mac in California is over $7. Costco sells more hot dogs than every Major League Baseball stadium in America combined. If they raised the combo to $7, it would be a billion dollars of extra net income. They could do it. They choose not to. "If you raise the price of the effing hot dog, I will kill you. So figure it out." Jim Sinegal said it to his COO in 2008 when costs were rising. Figure it out. Costco vertically integrated the hot dog supply chain. They own hot dog production plants in multiple cities. They worked deals with soda vendors. They did all that extra work for the privilege of not making more money on the hot dog. Harder is easier. "When you take the hard road, when you make a principled commitment, you get these almost unbelievable values. Because you're generating the most underrated and most valuable asset in all of business: trustworthiness." "Easy choices, hard life. Hard choices, easy life." Jerzy Gregorek, Olympic weightlifter. "Everybody wanna be a bodybuilder. Nobody wanna lift these heavy ass weights." Ronnie Coleman, eight-time Mr. Olympia. Everyone wants the outcome. Nobody wants to do the actual thing. Culture and mission can be cultivated, not commanded. Most leaders get this wrong. They say "I'm in charge of my team." But can you command your team to have integrity? Can you command it to have a particular culture? You have to make consistent, responsible choices, just like cultivating health in your body. Get reps. Eric gave practice talks at a Hobee's restaurant at 7 AM to six people just to get the reps. Caring and trying to do a good job is so unbelievably rare. That alone is a competitive advantage. Feedback tells you something about the person giving it, not about yourself. If someone reads Eric's manuscript and says, "This book sucks," he hasn't learned anything about the book. He's learned this person doesn't like this kind of book. When he stopped arguing with negative customer reviews and started studying who they came from, he noticed patterns. People 16 and younger loved the product. People 16 and older hated it. He learned who his product was for. Separate qualitative from quantitative feedback. Qualitative is for hypothesis generation. Quantitative is for hypothesis validation. When test readers told him a chapter wasn't working, that was qualitative. When the platform data showed nobody was getting past that chapter, that was quantitative. You need both to know what to fix. It is always too early until it's too late. Eric tells the story of a multibillion-dollar founder he warned before his IPO. The founder talked to his bankers, lawyers, and CFO. They told him Eric was a downer. The founder went public anyway with conventional governance. Five months later, his stock dropped 90 percent, and he was ousted. The best time to plant a tree is 40 years ago. The second-best time is today. Eric's checklist for building an incorruptible company: Encode your mission into the corporate charter. Most founders have never read their charter. If your mission statement says one thing but your legal charter says another, you're lying. The easiest fix: file a public benefit corp filing (PBC). Two pages. 44 states. Your lawyer can do it tomorrow. Identify your fiduciary commitments. Who would you rather die than betray? Is it your customers? Your employees? Product quality? You decide. If your answer is nobody, you're a sociopath. The whole book is for the people who actually want to accomplish something. Align your employees to that mission. Make sure everybody on the team is committed to the same fiduciary priority. Create a director's oath. Like the Hippocratic Oath for doctors, but for your board. They must pledge to commit to the company's mission. Board betrayal and investor pressure are leading causes of death of companies in the modern world. Make the directors accountable to somebody. Power without accountability is corrosive to the human spirit. Novo Nordisk is governed by a nonprofit foundation. Patagonia is governed by a perpetual purpose trust. John Lewis Partnership in the UK is governed by an employee ownership trust. IKEA, Vanguard, and REI all have these structures. The data shows these companies are dramatically more stable and higher performing than conventional structures. You are not stuck in traffic. You are traffic. People love to blame the system. But you're not just a passenger. You're part of what creates the system. Where you work. What you buy. What you give your attention to. Every one of those choices is fueling somebody's company, somebody's algorithm, somebody's bonus. The richest people in the world spend billions on PR because they know your individual choices matter. Use that power. Eric's champagne moment a year from now: a grassroots movement around Incorruptible. This book won't get wall-to-wall media coverage. It's antagonistic to people in power. So Eric hopes readers will hand it to their founders, their bosses, their friends. If consumers and employees start demanding, "I want to work in an incorruptible company," that's the toast. Reflection Questions What is your equivalent of Costco's hot dog? The one commitment you'd defend even when it's financially painful, even when the easy move would be to abandon it? Have you ever read your corporate charter, or the foundational document of your team or department? Does what's actually written match what you say you stand for? Where in your work or life would the harder short-term path build something more durable in the long run? Are you willing to lift the heavy weights? More Learning #258: Jesse Itzler: Creating Your Life Resume & Living Outside the Box #529: James Clear: Setting Up Your Future Self & Becoming an Optimist #565: Noah Kahan: The Art of Asking For What You Want Podcast Chapters 00:00 The Price of Becoming - Pre-Order Now!  01:03 Meet Eric Ries  02:55 Is It Possible to Build an Incorruptible Company?  04:04 Why Culture Alone Won't Save You  05:13 Sol Price, Fedmart, and the Locks That Got Changed  07:56 Why Wall Street Calls Costco the Exception  09:11 The $1.50 Hot Dog Story  13:59 Harder Is Easier: The Principle Behind It All  16:48 Why Governance Is Just Soul Craft  19:50 Building the First New Stock Exchange Since Nasdaq  22:33 Eric's Communication Style: Reps, Not Talent  30:52 The Opportunity Hiding in Broken Markets  31:59 How to Know Which Feedback to Listen To  35:39 Qualitative vs. Quantitative: Why You Need Both  37:23 The Whole Foods Cautionary Tale  40:25 The Founder's Checklist for Building Something Durable  43:44 Encode Your Mission Into the Corporate Charter  47:35 You Are Not Stuck in Traffic. You Are the Traffic.  52:37 The Champagne Question: A Grassroots Movement  55:27 James Clear, Author's Equity, and the Future of Publishing 56:43 EOPC

Eric Ries wrote the book that changed how the entire world builds startups. Now he's back with a more urgent argument: the way we're taught to build companies is quietly turning them against everything that made them worth building in the first place. The creator of The Lean Startup has spent years watching mission-driven founders get fired from their own companies, watching the spark that started everything get extinguished by the very success they worked so hard to create—and he's finally written the blueprint to stop it. In this interview, Eric breaks down the core ideas behind his new book Incorruptible, why your corporate charter was designed to sound boring so you'd ignore it, and how the loyalty of your best customers is the most valuable—and most endangered—asset your business has. What you'll learn in this interview: • Why the metrics you're tracking are actively destroying customer loyalty—and what to measure instead • The IMVU pivot story: how six months of data finally broke through Eric's stubbornness and forced the pivot that saved the company • Why product improvements that don't change customer behavior aren't improvements at all • How to know when it's time to pivot—and why the real problem is never the decision itself but getting your team to agree on the facts • Why DTC brands are systematically burning their most loyal customers with re-acquisition marketing they've already earned • The Saul Price story: how the founder of Fed-Mart was locked out of his own company—and came back to build Costco • Why only 20% of founders are still CEO three years after IPO—and the governance decisions made at founding that cause it • Why your corporate structure was deliberately designed to sound boring so you'll ignore it until it's too late • The two paths every mission-driven founder must master: the path of ethos and the path of integrity • How Novo Nordisk's 100-year-old governance structure—built by a Nobel laureate in the 1920s—accidentally created the most profitable pharmaceutical in history If you're an early-stage founder, a DTC operator who cares about building something that lasts, or anyone who's ever wondered why the companies that start with the most idealism seem to end up the most corrupt, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about structure, loyalty, and what it actually means to build a company worth protecting. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://your.omnisend.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to get started. WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/operators⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ → Already have a store? Apply here → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/⁠⁠⁠ CONNECT WITH ERIC RIES Instagram → ⁠https://www.instagram.com/ericriesactual/ LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/ Website → https://theleanstartup.com/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/foundr/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.twitter.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/podcast⁠

Eric Ries wrote The Lean Startup. Sold 2 million copies. Helped hundreds of people build companies from nothing. Now he's back with a harder question: why do so many of those companies eventually go bad?In this episode, Matt Watson sits down with Eric to talk about his new book Incorruptible—a deep dive into the invisible forces that corrupt organizations, why profit-maximization becomes pathological, and what it actually takes to build a company that stays great.They get into why the stage-gate development model keeps failing founders, the story of Saul Price and how Costco was born from a betrayal, and what a real fiduciary duty to your customer looks like in practice. Plus, how to structure your company so your values outlast you.Listen to the full episode on Startup Hustle. And if Incorruptible sounds like your next read, pre-order it at incorruptible.co before May 26th.⏱️ Episode Breakdown00:37 Introduction to Eric Ries and The Lean Startup06:57 The Journey to Incorruptible: A New Perspective12:38 The Challenge of Short-Term Thinking in Business16:14 Understanding Corruption in Business Practices22:51 Building Trustworthy Organizations31:03 Who Should Read Incorruptible?Links & ResourcesConnect with Eric Ries on LinkedInWhat Smart CTOs Are Doing Differently With Offshore Teams in 2025Subscribe to the Global Talent SprintFull Scale – Build your dev team quickly and affordablyIf you're trying to get your team out of the basement and into real product ownership, this episode is your playbook. Stop being a ticket factory. Build teams that think, create, and lead.Follow the show, rate it, and send this to someone who's still trying to do “real Scrum.” They need it more than you do.

On today's episode, we welcome Eric Ries, bestselling author of The Lean Startup and now Incorruptible — a new take on why good companies go bad, and what it actually takes to build one that doesn't. Eric has spent decades shaping how founders think about building companies. But this conversation goes beyond startups and into something bigger: what happens as companies scale, when pressure builds, incentives shift, and mission starts to drift. Because the reality is, most companies don't fail overnight—they slowly lose their way. In this episode, Eric breaks down the hidden forces that push companies off track, from what he calls “financial gravity” to the subtle ways governance and incentives shape behavior over time. We get into redefining profit, why mission has to be built into the operating system—not just the brand—and what founders often get wrong when it comes to long-term thinking. He also shares real examples of companies that have gotten this right—and why they've been able to endure when others haven't. If you care about building something that lasts—or making sure what you build doesn't turn into something you never intended—this is a conversation you'll want to hear.   Are you interested in sponsoring and advertising on The Kara Goldin Show, which is now in the Top 1% of Entrepreneur podcasts in the world? Let me know by contacting me at karagoldin@gmail.com. You can also find me @‌KaraGoldin on all networks.   To learn more about Eric Ries and Incorruptible:https://www.incorruptible.cohttps://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/https://x.com/ericrieshttps://www.instagram.com/ericriesactual/   Sponsored By: LinkedIn Jobs - Head to LinkedIn.com/KaraGoldin to post your job for free. RULA - Go to Rula.com/KARAGOLDIN for convenient therapy that's covered by insurance. SelectQuote - Save more than fifty percent on term life insurance at SelectQuote.com/kara TODAY to get started.   Check out our website to view this episode's show notes: https://karagoldin.com/podcast/841

You've probably heard about the spiritual armor Paul describes in Ephesians. But have you ever really thought you needed it? In this message, Pastor J.D. walks through each piece of spiritual armor so that you know how to arm yourself for the spiritual attack happening right now, but also so you understand that you need every part of your body covered—because where the gospel has built you up, Satan cannot attack you.

If your spiritual progress were based on how well you lived out the Bible's instructions at home, how would you be doing? In this message, as part of the “Love Incorruptible” series, Pastor J.D. walks us through Ephesians 5, a passage that stirs up a lot of confusion about submission, and helps us see that God uses the relationships in marriage, family, and work as laboratories to help us grow in spiritual maturity.

Eric Ries is the author of The Lean Startup, a book that reshaped how a generation of founders think about building companies. His new book, Incorruptible, explains how successful companies are destroyed by failing to protect what makes them valuable, and how to change it.In our in-depth conversation, we discuss:1. Why 80% of venture-backed founders are ousted within three years of going public2. The governance structures that protect companies like Anthropic, Costco, and Novo Nordisk3. The simple legal filing that takes two pages and could save your company4. Financial gravity: why successful companies predictably get corrupted into mediocrity5. Why mission-aligned companies like Anthropic reap major benefits from protecting their mission through governance6. Why success won't protect you—it instead makes you a bigger target—Brought to you by:WorkOS—Make your app enterprise-ready, with SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and more: https://workos.com/lennyVanta—Automate compliance, manage risk, and accelerate trust with AI: https://vanta.com/lenny—Episode transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-build-a-company-that-withstands—Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0—Where to find Eric Ries:• X: https://x.com/ericries• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries• Website: https://www.incorruptible.co• Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://news.theleanstartup.com/• Podcast:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://ericriesshow.com• YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Eric Ries(02:26) Introducing Incorruptible(06:26) Protecting what you've built(11:35) Why founders get ousted(14:58) Too early, too late(19:32) The blueprint: ethos plus integrity(20:49) Novo Nordisk's 100-year governance fortress(26:41) The Vectura Group and Philip Morris(33:16) The “harder is easier” principle(37:22) Cloudflare's mission emergence story(42:43) Groupon's email frequency death spiral(45:37) How to define your purpose(51:09) Mission-driven vs. mission-hopeful companies(54:46) Integrity: structural and personal(57:47) Shareholder primacy: the 40-year-old “natural law”(01:00:04) Public benefit corporations: the easiest protection(01:04:24) Downsides and objections(01:06:08) The Anthropic example: fastest-growing company ever(01:08:39) The torchbearers in every organization(01:10:37) The culture bank: deposits and withdrawals(01:12:28) OpenAI and Anthropic governance(01:16:21) Mission guardians explained(01:18:29) Spiritual holding companies(01:21:53) The founder control trap(01:25:25) Three things to do this week(01:30:10) AI alignment and human alignment(01:34:00) Conway's law: org charts in architecture(01:37:31) Book resources and farewell—References: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-build-a-company-that-withstands—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

You may think you're being a good Christian because you're trying to imitate God. But are you doing it because you adore him? In this message from the “Love Incorruptible” series, Pastor J.D. shows us why, when we experience the beauty of the gospel, we are compelled to walk in love, light, and wisdom—not in order to become a child of God but because as his beloved children, we can't help but want to be like him.

As the church, we cannot insist that people bow to our preferences when it comes to worshipping a Savior who gave up all his rights to rescue us. In this message, Pastor J.D. shows us as part of the “Love Incorruptible” series that when we are defined by who we are in Christ and not our cultural differences, we are able to lay down our preferences for the sake of others' salvation.