Carolyn Groobey (NACD Directorship 100) on the keynote's opening line — 'Why are boards terrible?'

A lead independent director named to the 2026 NACD Directorship 100 calls the Summit the Hamilton of governance conferences and says the tune she left with was Eric's. She reports the argument back: boards that break from best practices often outperform because they stay anchored to mission and think in decades, and connects it to her own service on an employee-owned firm's board.

“This year, mine came from Eric Ries, who opened with a question you don’t often hear at a governance conference: “Why are boards terrible?” His argument, from his new book Incorruptible: boards that break from “best practices” often outperform, because they stay anchored to mission and values and think in decades, not quarters.” — Carolyn Groobey on LinkedIn