Six months of salary.
That's what Matt Mullenweg offered every Automattic employee to resign if they didn't believe in the company's direction.
About 9% took the offer and left.
In 1991, Patagonia's catalog said: "Everything we make pollutes. Buy fewer items and buy things that last."
That level of honesty is almost unthinkable today. Patagonia can speak the truth because it is coherent inside and out.
Friends! I'm going live tomorrow with @ericries, talking about how to build a mission-driven company (and then actually protect it).
I was deeply struck by his book - it's something I wish I'd had much sooner in my founder journey. Come join us -- signup link below
Nir Eyal (Hooked, Indistractable): "A thoughtful, timely, and important read for founders, leaders, and anyone trying to build institutions that endure without losing their soul."
https://t.co/gowvHYBeeQ
"It might be the most important book I have read as a mission-focused founder."
— Bryon Kroger, Air Force veteran and software founder
https://t.co/9oyMhcnl5n
https://t.co/gowvHYBeeQ
Diving into @ericries’ latest book, Incorruptible.
Always looking for lessons that help build organizations that are resilient, trustworthy, and mission-driven.
Many thanks to Jeremy Kagan (@TextbookVC), for the copy!
been asking others at Anthropic how they stay in the loop with Claude and fully understand the work being done
this is one of my favorites from Suzanne:
Rory Sutherland (Ogilvy): "If you have ever wondered why 90% of interesting companies are either founder-run or family owned, this explains a lot."
https://t.co/gowvHYBeeQ
The Lean Startup was absolutely formative for me in how I started Buffer. I was actually one of the earliest readers of @ericries' blog (startuplessonslearned) when he first started writing about the lean startup principles, well before the talks and the book. Lean Startup resonated deeply for me, so much so that I fully embraced the approaches in how I started Buffer. I wrote about it over 15 years ago here: https://t.co/XOlHNoyyQY.
There's a connection between The Lean Startup and Incorruptible, though they are on very different topics. Eric describes it well:
"My book The Lean Startup gave a generation of founders the tools to build quickly, to scale, and to create massive value. But I failed to anticipate what came next. I taught people how to build something worth protecting—but not how to protect it."
1/ New episode: @ericries joins our founder, @bernardleong on the podcast to discuss Incorruptible, why successful companies lose their way, and how founders can build governance that protects mission.
Watch on YouTube: https://t.co/YBQ7dvzxAD
#incorruptible
7/ This conversation is about startups, AI, governance, and the deeper question of how great companies stay great.
Listen to @ericries on Spotify: https://t.co/oeZK7ykcJm
@joelgascoigne@ericries How the hell did you almost lose control of the company? I thought you had majority equity.
I remember @hnshah telling you, if you want to do all the shit that you guys love, you have to own control of the business. And you are saying that was what you were going to do.
An update on reading so far:
- Incorruptible is undoubtedly one of the most important books for new and growing businesses in a long time
- I'm in awe of @ericries' storytelling abilities and the way he weaves together examples and cautionary tales to drive points home. I also have admiration for taking on this topic - the impact is going to be significant, but it may not make him popular in certain circles of folks who want to keep control of companies for their own financial benefit. I cannot imagine a better suited person to carry this torch and drive this movement. He has the credibility, the reach, and the first-hand experience, to make this a true shift.
- for me, it's personal and as I started reading, the book has brought up many emotions. I almost lost control of Buffer in 2017/2018 and those memories are flooding back, both the pain of those times, gratitude for being fortunate to make it through, pride for making tough decisions to stay the course. This book is going to be both easy and hard to read all at the same time for me. Trauma and wounds are being surfaced and it hurts. And yet, it's also emboldening me to keep going and make Buffer further mission-driven and protected at a governance level.