Incorruptible
Incorruptible by Eric Riesby Eric Ries
Hacker ApprovedRanked 3 of 24 business books by recommenders
Recommended for its account of how companies lose their principles and what to do about it. Critics say it is thin on evidence.
Recommended for its account of how companies lose their principles and what to do about it. Critics say it is thin on evidence.
34 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 23
- criticize it
- 11
- approval share
- 68%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 23 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.1 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Explains how companies drift from principles
“It is a fascinating read as to how most companies start with good intentions but end up so far away from their principles.”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “At the very end of the book, I call these companies "addicts creating more addicts."”
Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “AMA: I'm Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Author of New Bestseller Incorruptible” Practical fixes and ideas for change
“you will not only know the answer to this question, you will even know what we can do about it”
Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “AMA: I'm Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Author of New Bestseller Incorruptible” “ideas in the new book might be useful in helping us reorganize our economy afterwards”
Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “AMA: I'm Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Author of New Bestseller Incorruptible” “There is a whole chapter on that "hack" and how (and why) to implement it.”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “AMA: I'm Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Author of New Bestseller Incorruptible” Argument feels rigorous and convincing
“I think the book gives a pretty clear and convincing answer”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “AMA: I'm Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Author of New Bestseller Incorruptible” “the much more detailed and (I hope) rigorous argument”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “AMA: I'm Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Author of New Bestseller Incorruptible” “I think it is both more effective and more long-term.”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “AMA: I'm Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Author of New Bestseller Incorruptible” Emotionally resonant beyond founders
“I think this one is more emotionally resonant for folks, and has applicability way beyond founders or even product people.”
Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “AMA: I'm Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Author of New Bestseller Incorruptible” “I applaud writing a book on the challenges of making a business that is net good for society”
Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “AMA: I'm Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Author of New Bestseller Incorruptible”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Claims lack scientific basis
“full of platitudes that sound relevant to people's problems and desires, that pretend to be based on science but have no actual basis in facts”
Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “AMA: I'm Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Author of New Bestseller Incorruptible” “feels like heavy selection bias.”
Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “AMA: I'm Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Author of New Bestseller Incorruptible” Content and format disappoint readers
“I was disappointed in the content and format of the book.”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “AMA: I'm Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Author of New Bestseller Incorruptible” “Why is the scrolling hijacked (in a super frustrating way) on incorruptible.co?”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “AMA: I'm Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Author of New Bestseller Incorruptible” Framing seen as out of touch
“what you're selling is illusions for entrepreneurs that want to delude themselves away from personal responsibility”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “AMA: I'm Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Author of New Bestseller Incorruptible” “It's about how out of touch this kind of book is.”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “AMA: I'm Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Author of New Bestseller Incorruptible”
Other business books people recommend
The four most recommended other business books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Gervais Principleby Venkatesh Rao | 32 | 6 | 84% | 7 | — | Approved |
| The Lean Startupby Eric Ries | 32 | 6 | 84% | 5 | 10 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| Incorruptibleby Eric RiesThis page | 23 | 11 | 68% | 4 | — | Approved |
| The Goalby Eliyahu Goldratt | 21 | 3 | 88% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Never Split the Differenceby Chris Voss | 13 | 2 | 87% | 6 | — | Approved |
What people said
40 of the 53 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“one addressed by mission-lock implements (Eric Ries's recent book Incorruptible is great here)”
“In there he tells the story of the Vectura Group, a pharma company that was developing treatments for asthma”
“It is a fascinating read as to how most companies start with good intentions but end up so far away from their principles.”
“The book Incorruptible covers how to avoid that”
“it makes it clear that shareholder primacy is a relatively recent phenomena”
“There is a whole chapter on that "hack" and how (and why) to implement it.”
“I think it is both more effective and more long-term.”
“I was disappointed in the content and format of the book.”
“what you're selling is illusions for entrepreneurs that want to delude themselves away from personal responsibility”
“the much more detailed and (I hope) rigorous argument”
“Excited to read the new book (arriving tomorrow)!”
“it actually is hard for me to separate decisions like these from my assessment of whether a book like this is worth my time”
“Why is the scrolling hijacked (in a super frustrating way) on incorruptible.co?”
“It's about how out of touch this kind of book is.”
“I'll be passing it around on the work Slack.”
“I think the book gives a pretty clear and convincing answer”
“I think this one is more emotionally resonant for folks, and has applicability way beyond founders or even product people.”
“I'm curious to see how much that maps with what you identified in your new book”
“At the very end of the book, I call these companies "addicts creating more addicts."”
“I hope you'll read the book and judge for yourself.”
“I enjoyed the book during "solve.it" course (Closed reading). Reading it again second time.”
“It feels very mission driven which perfect.”
“I tried really hard to make this book different.”
“To be clear: yes, it's possible, it's not too late. Read the book.”
“I hope you'll read the book and then come back and let me know”
“from your description here, I now realize I'm going to love this book!”
“you will not only know the answer to this question, you will even know what we can do about it”
“full of platitudes that sound relevant to people's problems and desires, that pretend to be based on science but have no actual basis in facts”
“ideas in the new book might be useful in helping us reorganize our economy afterwards”
“I included a version of that story in chapter 12 of the new book.”
“the best way to support any author is to buy the book from your local independent bookstore”
“There's a whole chapter on this question in the new book, so I won't try to summarize it here, but just encourage you to check it out.”
“I'm confident you're going to like the book a lot as it gets into precisely those topics.”
“feels like heavy selection bias.”
“I already have a copy of the book and intend to dig in more on these themes specifically.”
“your argument (structure being the dominant term) is even stronger”
“I applaud writing a book on the challenges of making a business that is net good for society”
“I'm about halfway through Incorruptible and loving it so far.”
“so that future leaders will know what to ask for when and if they have the opportunity to try”
“You can also see the various accolades, reviews, and awards that it's accumulated so far.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.