Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad... and How Great Companies Stay Great

What It Is: A 2026 book by Eric Ries, founder of the Lean Startup movement and the Long-Term Stock Exchange, arguing that companies drift from their mission not through bad actors but through poorly designed governance systems — ownership structures, incentives, and decision-making rules that that lack the structural integrity to defend against internal and external pressures. 

Why It Matters: Ries reframes governance as a design problem rather than a  compliance exercise, arguing that Accountability to the mission has to be built into a company's structure — charters, voting rights, incentive design — rather than added on after mission drift has already happened.  This same lens can be applied to Public Affairs Governance, as drift here is especially damaging to credibility.

How to Use It: Use it to prompt discussions with boards and founders about potential mission drift, and timely redesign of governance structures – including Public Affairs Engagement Policies.