Masters of Scale Why success destroys the companies we love, with Eric Ries
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May 26, 2026 
Eric Ries, author and entrepreneur behind The Lean Startup and Incorruptible, and founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange. He discusses how success can corrode mission, how organizations develop emergent ethics, and real-world governance models that protect purpose. He shares stories from Cloudflare, Novo Nordisk, Whole Foods, and Anthropic to illustrate why courage and structure matter in business.
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Success Can Destroy Value Through Extractive Norms
- Modern business doctrines teach practices that systematically destroy value by encouraging extractive behavior.
- Eric Ries argues empirical evidence shows these norms are wrong and calls for new best practices that prioritize trust and long-term value.
Organizations Develop Their Own Moral Character
- Organizations develop an emergent character that predicts future ethical behavior independent of individual employees.
- Ries cites studies showing organizational ethics forecast future crimes better than individual morality, so structure matters more than intent.
Success Creates A Trust Target
- Success concentrates trustworthiness as an asset that attracts opportunistic actors seeking to extract value.
- Ries warns the more successful you are, the more tempting it is for insiders or buyers to 'borrow' trust for short-term gain.
