The Problem of Failure

Why Good Leaders Fail

The risk of sudden leadership failure can be headed off by early detection of challenges and better supports.

The Expert Trap and the Next War

what forecasting failure tells us about the future

Incorruptible

Instant New York Times Bestseller "Incorruptible by Eric Ries is the best and most important business book of the year." —Dan Heath, NYT Bestselling Author & Podcast Host of "What It's Like To Be..." A Thinkers50 Best New Management Book | A Next Big Idea Club Must-Read From Eric Ries, creator of The Lean Startup, comes a bold and urgently needed rethink of how organizations are built—and why success itself so often turns companies against the people and principles that made them worth building in the first place. For decades, we've explained corporate corruption as a problem of bad actors, moral weakness, or isolated scandals. But that story doesn't match reality. Again and again, companies founded with strong ideals drift toward short-term thinking, extractive behavior, and mission abandonment—often despite the best intentions of the people inside them. Incorruptible argues that this failure is not primarily ethical. It is structural. As organizations grow, the systems that govern them—ownership, incentives, charters, accountability, and decision-making—quietly reshape behavior. When those systems are poorly designed, even principled leaders are pushed toward outcomes they never wanted. Success itself becomes a form of financial gravity, bending companies away from their original purpose. Drawing on two decades of work with founders, CEOs, investors, and institution builders, Ries shows how these failures arise predictably—and how they can be prevented. He reframes corporate governance not as bureaucracy or compliance, but as a creative and strategic act at the heart of building enduring, mission-controlled companies. At a moment when trust in business is eroding, Incorruptible offers a clear-eyed diagnosis and a practical blueprint for change. Success alone will not protect what matters most. Only incorruptible design can. Get more information and bonus materials at incorruptible.co.

Net information about the Jon Johansen (“DVD Jon”) case

A colletion of links to articles and documents about the Jon Johansen case, DeCSS and QTFairUse

The Optimization Trap: Why Too Much Efficiency Makes Us Fragile - The Great Simplification

In this episode, Nate is joined by biologist and biophysicist Olivier Hamant to explore why living systems prioritize robustness over performance, and what that means for a civilization built almost entirely in the opposite direction.

The Fractal Organization

The world of management is in crisis - the old remedies no longer work and organizations are failing at an increasing rate. Although many talk of 'joined up thinking', few offer practical guidance on how to achieve this in organizations. <b><i>The Fractal Organization</i></b> sets down the practical implications of a well tested systemic approach to building organizations that are capable of surviving and flourishing in these turbulent times. <p>"An excellent read…Many organizations fail at the mercy of their own ignorance. The author has done an excellent job in making ‘the science of effective organization’ accessible to management, providing them with a new knowledge to deal with the uncertainties that the markets place upon them."<br /><b>Stephen J. Brewis, Business Architect, British Telecom</b></p> <p>"...one of the most interesting, thorough and rigorous guides to management that I have ever read, … introduces new insights in every chapter… carries a credibility which acts as a counterbalance to the sometimes difficult message which he conveys which is that a lot of mainstream management practice is at best ineffective and at worst downright destructive. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in management or systems thinking."<br /><b>Penny Marrington</b>, <b>Course Chair, Systems Group, Open University</b></p> <p>"In my opinion this book manages to present sound academic theory that is relevant and helpful to the practitioner in the business. I experienced several A-HA moments."<br /><b>Pauline Marsh, Strategy Director, CS&S International, BAE SYSTEMS</b></p> <p>"The insights of the Viable System Model have been open only to a select few for much too long. Hoverstadt has gone furthest in bringing these ideas to a wider audience…Management books have too often been serious but not practical, or practical but not serious. This book is both brilliantly serious and practical, and often entertaining too."<br /><b>Professor Peter Kawalak, Manchester Business School</b></p> <p>"Integrates mainstream management ideas with the systems ideas underpinning the VSM, and flows and reads well. As a starting point for developing understanding of the VSM in today's world this book improves greatly on all books that have gone before, I would certainly recommend it to colleagues, clients, and students."<br /><b>Dr. Robin Asby, Course Chair, Communication and Systems, Open University</b></p>

The Jevons Paradox of AI - Wesley's notes

Why AI can make us more productive but will never save us time

Leadership fails, leadership failures, leaders fail

Leadership fails because leaders fail to connect with each team member in a meaningful way. Leadership failures can have a profound effect on the company.

Michael Baym on Twitter / X

Remember that you, by definition, cannot distinguish between a good idea and a failure of your own knowledge, judgement, or taste. This is why external (ideally expert) feedback is crucial— Michael Baym (@baym) March 25, 2026

On Dying Well: Ben Sasse and the Vocation of Suffering

Ben Sasse’s recent announcement reveals to us both goods and virtues that show in his dying a glimmer of light, a stirring of hope, and the possibility of spring even in one’s final winter.

The pessimist who became a prophet

Michael Sandel was ignored by a generation of political optimists. Now he is searching for a way out of the mess he saw coming

Guy Who Sucks At Being A Person Sees Huge Potential In AI

SAN MATEO, CA—After spending the past three decades of his life being totally unable and unwilling to engage in any meaningful way with the world around him, James Parker, a local guy who sucks at being a person, told reporters Thursday that he saw huge potential in AI. “While it’s still in its early phase, artificial intelligence will one day accomplish things that humans could have never even dreamed of doing,” said Parker, who, by all accounts, has never stretched himself to do something he found difficult; has never created anything truly original; and, deep down, has absolutely zero understanding of what makes things good, enjoyable, or rewarding. “Just yesterday, I asked an AI program to write an entire sci-fi novel for me, and [as someone who will die an empty shell of a man who wasted his life doing nothing for the world and, perhaps, should never have been born] I was super impressed. Soon, humans won’t need to do anything at all! Awesome.” At press time, Parker added that as someone whose contributions to society would almost certainly be measured cumulatively as a net loss, he also saw great potential in the future of the metaverse.

Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism

A New York Times BestsellerA Wall Street Journal BestsellerA New York Times Notable Book of 2020A New York Times Book Review Editors' ChoiceShortlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the YearA New Statesman Book to ReadFrom economist Anne Case and Nobel Prize winner Angus Deaton, a groundbreaking account of how the flaws in capitalism are fatal for America's working class