I'm Eric Ries, author of "The Lean Startup" and new book "Incorruptible" – AMA
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
Eric Ries discusses his new book 'Incorruptible,' which examines why good companies drift from their missions over time.
Eric Ries, author of 'The Lean Startup' and 'The Startup Way,' hosted an AMA to discuss his new book 'Incorruptible'. The book examines what Ries calls 'financial gravity': invisible structural forces that cause companies to gradually abandon their original missions without anyone making an explicit decision to do so. Ries has observed this pattern across startups, large companies, NGOs, and governments. The book analyzes how companies like Costco, Patagonia, and Novo Nordisk have structured themselves to resist this gravity and sustain long-term missions. Ries has also founded the Long-Term Stock Exchange and co-founded Answer.AI with Jeremy Howard. He used AI tools in researching, editing, and promoting the book, though states he did not let AI write the content itself.
What commenters are saying
Commenters praised Ries's work and engaged substantively on structural change. One recurring theme questioned whether reversing financial gravity in ossified large companies is feasible without radical crisis or extremely bold leadership. Ries acknowledged the difficulty but argued that mission-driven organizations can outperform conventional ones, and that generational pressure from younger workers may drive involuntary change. One commenter expressed skepticism that regulatory reforms can reverse capitalist extraction incentives that have persisted across centuries, citing the co-optation of 1960s counterculture ideals by marketing and lobbying. Another noted that stakeholder value (as distinct from shareholder value) is not a new concept, citing R. Edward Freeman's 1984 work, though acknowledged the idea needs broader momentum.