Incorruptible: My new book comes out May 26!

Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad… and How Great Companies Stay Great   Available for pre-order at incorruptible.co

As Incorruptible’s publication day draws near – May 26 in the U.S., May 28 everywhere else – it’s exciting to feel the momentum building. I’m doing lots of interviews and appearances, and coverage is starting to go live.

GeekWire wrote this great overview of my book preview talk at Seattle Flow Startup Day on Friday. In many ways, it was a bookend to my first appearance there in 2011, when The Lean Startup came out. I’m really pleased they highlighted one of the most important aspects of the book:

At its core, “Incorruptible” argues that the standard definition of profit (revenue minus expenses) is fundamentally broken. Ries has developed a new definition: profit is the maximization of human flourishing. More specifically, he defines profit as the surplus of human flourishing that an organization creates: what remains after accounting for all of its impacts on human lives, not just the ones that show up on a balance sheet.

In addition, the New York Times’s “DealBook” newsletter posted an interview with me about the book. As an avid “DealBook” reader myself, I’m always thrilled to be included there. Among other things, it captured my hopes not just for what Incorruptible can do right now, but what kind of future it might lead to by creating discussion about why we believe that “the way things are” is the only way they can be.

“We built this financial system that has this gravitational pull down into mediocrity and to extraction and exploitation,” Ries told DealBook’s Sarah Kessler. “You can imagine building a different financial system, but until we get there, my goal is simply to have people be able to build organizations that can resist that.”

I’m grateful for all the interest in these ideas and the book. The coming weeks hold more interviews and appearances as I head for publication day.  If you have any suggestions for people, media contacts, and platforms you think might be interested in getting a copy of the book and helping me spread the word, please reply to this email with any ideas. Your help is much appreciated!

EVENTS HAPPENING SOON!

The list of opportunities to participate in both in-person and virtual events is growing by the day. I hope you’ll find something that fits your schedule here. Please feel free to share with friends, teammates, and communities who might be interested.

Best Bookstore in Union Square, SF

Monday, May 18 from 6:00-8:00pm PT in San Francisco, CA

Register here

Join me, Sarah Lacy, and Paul Carr at their recently opened SF Union Square location of The Best Bookstore. I’ll be in conversation with Sarah, who is an acclaimed author, award-winning journalist, and (self-described) lapsed entrepreneur. You’ll experience their vibrant vision of what a bookstore can be.

ProductCon NYC

Wednesday, May 20 from 9am-5pm ET in New York City or Virtual

Join in person or register for a free online seat

Product leaders are crucial in the AI era. Building companies that are not only valuable but protected against threats to their mission is more critical than ever in order to safeguard transformative technologies. I’ll be speaking about The Lean Startup and Incorruptible at this gathering for leaders and innovators.

STATION DC

Thursday, May 28 from 5:30pm - 7:30pm ET in DC

RSVP here

Ari Shapiro of NPR and I will unpack the ideas behind the book and what they mean for leaders, builders, and anyone operating inside complex institutions. STATION DC is known for bringing together founders, operators, policymakers, and curious minds across DC for conversation and connection. Don’t wait to RSVP – it’s filling up quickly.

JUNE EVENTS

Kepler’s Books

Tuesday, June 2 from 6pm-7pm PT in Menlo Park, CA

Get tickets here

I’ll be talking with Kim Scott, author of Radical Respect and Radical Candor, at this in-person independent bookstore event. Kim and I did a recent podcast episode about Incorruptible, so we’re all warmed up for a great evening with you.

Book Passage

Wednesday, June 3 at 6pm PT in Corte Madera, CA

Event information here

Alex Komoroske, CEO and co-founder of Common Tools and former Head of Corporate Strategy at Stripe, will be joining me for this conversation. This is a free event in a community icon for books and conversation.

Commonwealth Club

Monday, June 22 at 6pm in San Francisco, CA or Virtual

Register here

I’m thrilled that Scott Cook, Intuit’s Co-Founder and Chairman of the Executive Committee, will be taking the stage with me at the Commonwealth Club. This event will be both in-person and virtual, and you can add the purchase of a copy of Incorruptible to your registration for either option.