EPISODE · Apr 30, 2026 · 1H 10M
Eric Ries - Incorruptible by Design
from The Long Now Foundation · host The Long Now Foundation
What if we redefined “profit” as maximizing human flourishing? Eric Ries has seen the corrosive effects of shareholder primacy at every company he’s worked with. Mission-driven companies, however, are the outliers: demonstrating stronger profits, better talent, and deeper loyalty. So why don't we build differently? In the long arc of economic history, our current definitions of profit and value are relatively new, held in place by normative consensus. But we can flip the script. By using what Ries calls “mission transmission,” we can build companies around a coherent set of values, where profit becomes the natural extension of those values, rather than the only goal. “Start with the thing you have the most agency over," he said. "You can decide the purpose of your work.” We built this system, Ries urged, so we can rebuild it better. Eric’s new book, "Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad…and How Great Companies Stay Great," is available worldwide on May 26, 02026. This talk was presented April 7, 02026 at the Cowell Theater in San Francisco. Episode notes: https://longnow.org/talks/02026-ries/ The event livestream is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MptHy1KZnI This talk is part of Long Now Talks. Launched by Stewart Brand in 02003, Long Now Talks has invited more than 400 leading thinkers to share their civilization-scale ideas with a live audience and millions around the globe tuning in to our podcast and videos. Long Now Talks are brought to you by The Long Now Foundation, which has spent the last 25 years igniting cultural imagination around long-term thinking. By inspiring thought and conversation about how we've been shaped by the last 10,000 years and what might be in store for us over the next 10,000 years, Long Now Talks seek to expand our collective sense of the present moment. Long Now Talks cover futurism and speculative fiction; time, nature, and contemplative practices; the intersection of the humanities and sciences; the evolution of counterculture to cyberculture; cultural imagination, land art and public monuments; and of course, long-term thinking and being a good ancestor. In our age of compounding crises, The Long Now Foundation is a counterweight. We are a force that imagines new possibilities, thinks critically, and takes action over the long term. We believe that when we all come together, bound by commitment and curiosity, audacious things become possible. Will you join us? https://longnow.org/join
What this episode covers
What if we redefined “profit” as maximizing human flourishing? Eric Ries has seen the corrosive effects of shareholder primacy at every company he’s worked with. Mission-driven companies, however, are the outliers: demonstrating stronger profits, better talent, and deeper loyalty. So why don't we build differently? In the long arc of economic history, our current definitions of profit and value are relatively new, held in place by normative consensus. But we can flip the script. By using what Ries calls “mission transmission,” we can build companies around a coherent set of values, where profit becomes the natural extension of those values, rather than the only goal. “Start with the thing you have the most agency over," he said. "You can decide the purpose of your work.” We built this system, Ries urged, so we can rebuild it better. Eric’s new book, "Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad…and How Great Companies Stay Great," is available worldwide on May 26, 02026. This talk was presented April 7, 02026 at the Cowell Theater in San Francisco. Episode notes: https://longnow.org/talks/02026-ries/ The event livestream is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MptHy1KZnI This talk is part of Long Now Talks. Launched by Stewart Brand in 02003, Long Now Talks has invited more than 400 leading thinkers to share their civilization-scale ideas with a live audience and millions around the globe tuning in to our podcast and videos. Long Now Talks are brought to you by The Long Now Foundation, which has spent the last 25 years igniting cultural imagination around long-term thinking. By inspiring thought and conversation about how we've been shaped by the last 10,000 years and what might be in store for us over the next 10,000 years, Long Now Talks seek to expand our collective sense of the present moment. Long Now Talks cover futurism and speculative fiction; time, nature, and contemplative practices; the intersection of the humanities and sciences; the evolution of counterculture to cyberculture; cultural imagination, land art and public monuments; and of course, long-term thinking and being a good ancestor. In our age of compounding crises, The Long Now Foundation is a counterweight. We are a force that imagines new possibilities, thinks critically, and takes action over the long term. We believe that when we all come together, bound by commitment and curiosity, audacious things become possible. Will you join us? https://longnow.org/join
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Eric Ries - Incorruptible by Design
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