# Eric Ries on Why Most ‘Best Practices’ Are Quietly Killing the Companies That Follow Them

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-strategy-and-leadership-podcast-with-anthony-c-taylor-325713/eric-ries-on-why-most-best-practices-are-quietly-killing-the-companies-that-follow-them.md
Podcast: [The Strategy and Leadership Podcast with Anthony C. Taylor](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-strategy-and-leadership-podcast-with-anthony-c-taylor-325713)
Published: 2026-04-21T17:11:09+00:00
Episode link: https://episode.flightcast.com/ktfgza4f22pbjh9pwl9nbyto.mp3
Audio file: https://episode.flightcast.com/ktfgza4f22pbjh9pwl9nbyto.mp3
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Duration seconds: 1835

## Resource

What happens when success itself starts pulling your company away from its mission? In this episode of the Strategy & Leadership Podcast, Anthony Taylor speaks with Eric Ries, entrepreneur and author of Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad… and How Great Companies Stay Great. Eric is best known for The Lean Startup, a book that reshaped how modern companies are built. In this conversation, he expands on that foundation and challenges one of the most deeply held assumptions in business: that corruption and failure are the result of bad actors rather than flawed systems. Anthony and Eric explore why even well-intentioned leaders and organizations drift toward short-term thinking, how “financial gravity” pulls companies away from their purpose, and what it takes to design organizations that can scale without losing their mission. They also discuss the role of governance as a strategic advantage, why trust is one of the most valuable assets a company can build, and how leaders can rethink profit, accountability, and long-term value creation in a way that aligns performance with purpose. What You Will Learn in This Episode Why good companies go bad even with strong leadership How structural design, not morality, drives long-term outcomes What “financial gravity” is and how it impacts decision-making Why governance should be treated as a strategic function, not compliance How to build organizations that scale without losing their mission About Eric Ries Eric Ries is an entrepreneur, author, and creator of the Lean Startup methodology, which has influenced how a generation of companies approach innovation and growth. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Lean Startup, as well as The Startup Way and The Leader’s Guide. Over the past two decades, Eric has wo…

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