Incorruptible
Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great
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Incorruptible
Narrated by:
Eric Ries
Pre-order for $26.99
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Narrated by:
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Eric Ries
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By:
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Eric Ries
About this listen
For decades, we've explained corporate corruption as a problem of bad actors, moral weakness, or isolated scandals. But that story doesn't match reality. Again and again, companies founded with strong ideals drift toward short-term thinking, extractive behavior, and mission abandonment—often despite the best intentions of the people inside them.
Incorruptible argues that this failure is not primarily ethical. It is structural.
As organizations grow, the systems that govern them—ownership, incentives, charters, accountability, and decision-making—quietly reshape behavior. When those systems are poorly designed, even principled leaders are pushed toward outcomes they never wanted. Success itself becomes a form of financial gravity, bending companies away from their original purpose.
Drawing on two decades of work with founders, CEOs, investors, and institution builders, Ries shows how these failures arise predictably—and how they can be prevented. He reframes corporate governance not as bureaucracy or compliance, but as a creative and strategic act at the heart of building enduring, mission-controlled companies.
At a moment when trust in business is eroding, Incorruptible offers a clear-eyed diagnosis and a practical blueprint for change.
Success alone will not protect what matters most. Only incorruptible design can.
Critic Reviews
"Every founder hopes their path is a straight line. It won't be. They hope they will have the right mentor to help them avoid problems. They won't. Eric Ries gives founders a playbook to help avoid the inevitable pitfalls and find your path to the business you set out to create.” (Mark Cuban, Entrepreneur and Investor)
"Incorruptible is the rare business book that is both a moral compass and a practical playbook. Ries shows us, with rigor and optimism, how to build organizations that are worthy of our trust.” (Frances Frei, UPS Foundation Professor of Service Management, Harvard Business School)
"Incorruptible is a must-read for any founder, board member, investor, or consumer who cares about protecting entrepreneurship, innovation, and the productive power of capitalism from the dangers of short-term thinking—and for anyone who recognizes the importance of trustworthy and enduring institutions for a thriving democracy." (Reid Hoffman, Co-Founder of LinkedIn and Bestselling Author of Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right with Our AI Future)
"Better is possible, but only if we understand what we're up against. This profound book will inform and infuriate, and then it will help you see a path forward. It should be required reading for anyone who manages (or has a manager). Gravity is real." (Seth Godin, Bestselling Author and Entrepreneur)
"Incorruptible demonstrates the importance of mission-driven leadership and defying the status quo to build organizations that withstand the test of time. Through Eric's decades of experience building and running businesses, he articulates how companies avoid the traps of corruption and lead with values to thrive as organizations and reshape industries." (Ken Chenault, chairman and managing director, General Catalyst; former chairman and CEO, American Express)
“If you want to build a company that will be making the world a better place a hundred years from now, it’s not enough to be a great person with good intentions–you need to consciously build incorruptible governance. Ries shows you how. Indispensable!” (Kim Scott, author of Radical Candor)
"If you want the world to be a better place than it is, this book is a good place to start." (Tim O’Reilly, Bestselling Author and Founder of O'Reilly Media)
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