Instead of a siloed advisory board, Axon's ethics council—comprised of academics and activists—is embedded directly with product managers. This makes ethical considerations an upfront design input and proactive part of the development lifecycle, rather than a final compliance check, shaping products from their inception.

Following the two-tiered model of companies like Novo Nordisk, AI safety startup Anthropic established a 'Long-Term Benefit Trust.' This perpetual purpose trust has outside trustees who can appoint directors to the main board, ensuring the company remains aligned with its core mission.

Horowitz argues that forgoing a board is a massive legal risk for CEOs. A board's primary function is to provide a legal shield. Running material decisions, like equity grants, past the board protects the CEO from personal liability and lawsuits from shareholders. Without this process, founders are dangerously exposed.

To operationalize trust, embed it directly into your company's strategic framework, like Martin Erickson's decision stack. By establishing a principle like "trust over short-term profit," you create a clear guideline that shapes all subsequent product and business decisions, making ethics a tangible part of the process.

To protect its 'safety first' mission from investor pressure, AI company Anthropic created a 'Long-Term Benefit Trust.' This separate body, staffed by mission-aligned trustees, has the legal power to appoint board members to the for-profit entity, creating a structural guardrail against mission drift.

Eric Ries observed that every major AI company (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.) has rejected standard corporate governance. They consider the technology too dangerous and have implemented structures with a "mission guardian"—an entity or person responsible for ensuring the company stays true to its safety-oriented mission above pure profit.

One of the easiest yet most powerful actions to build an incorruptible company is to legally embed its mission into the corporate charter. This simple step restores the historical norm that companies exist for a specific purpose, providing a legal bulwark against purely profit-driven pressures.

Founders should view board members as long-term relationships akin to in-laws, since they're difficult to remove once appointed. Prioritize a high-quality, helpful board member you can work with for a decade over a slightly better valuation from a less suitable partner.

A CEO who isn't the founder can be more objective and critical of the business. Founders are often too emotionally invested to see flaws, as the company is an extension of themselves. This emotional distance allows for better, more rational decision-making.