Why success destroys the companies we love, with Eric Ries

Corporate corruption stems from structural failures in modern business governance rather than just individual ethical lapses. Organizations often succumb to "success traps," where the pursuit of short-term financial gains—driven by shareholder primacy—erodes the long-term trustworthiness that serves as a company's most valuable asset. By prioritizing mission-driven principles over extractive practices, companies like Novo Nordisk and Cloudflare demonstrate that resisting outside pressure and maintaining structural integrity leads to superior, enduring performance. Conversely, the decline of Whole Foods illustrates how prioritizing stock price over core purpose creates vulnerability to external exploitation. True organizational health requires moving beyond the "agency" model of fiduciary duty toward a "trustee" model, where leaders prioritize the long-term viability of the organization over the immediate, often destructive, demands of the capital markets.