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57. 🎙️ EP57 - When Excellence Isn’t Optional: How Healthcare Mastery Exposes IT’s Compliance Illusion
01:06:15||Season 2, Ep. 57Compliance isn’t excellence.And in today’s IT world, that illusion is costing millions — and lives.In this powerful episode, Michele Brissoni (Creator of the Unicorns’ Ecosystem and SW Craftsmanship Dojo®) is joined by Ute Mercker (Investment Director @IBB Ventures) to uncover a brutal but critical truth:✅ In healthcare, regulations protect human lives.👨🏻⚕️ But it’s doctors’ mastery, ethics, and relentless practice that actually save them.✅ In IT and software-driven organizations, leadership often hides behind compliance.🏥 But without behavioral excellence, they’re building risk — not resilience.✅ Compliance might keep you out of court.⚰️ But only mastery, like in a surgery room, will keep you alive in business.⸻Topics we explore in this conversation:• Why compliance isn’t enough to ensure excellence in modern industries• The dangers of “false safety” in software development and leadership• The awakening IT leadership must face to survive AI disruption• How behavioral engineering builds unbreakable organizations• How to upskill your org to the socio-technical excellence of healthcare⸻🎯 Awakening Week ThemeIf you lead a tech team, a company, or a portfolio…Now is the time to evolve. Compliance is just the starting block.Neuroscience-driven coaching is your real safeguard.🥋 Join the SW Craftsmanship Dojo® and elevate your software organization to elite standards:🌐 https://swcraftsmanshipdojo.com/#get-started📊 Request a non-binding Organizational Assessment to benchmark your company against true behavioral excellence.⸻🦄 Subscribe to The Forge of Unicorns for weekly insights in behavioral engineering, leadership, and transformation:https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-forge-of-unicorns-7184097792242458624/🎥 Join the Deep Dive and explore the full narrative on LinkedIn.⸻🔖 Hashtags:#Leadership #Technology #Healthcare #BehavioralEngineering #PrivateEquity #SoftwareDevelopment #venturecapital #healthcare #podcast #elite #transformation
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56. 🎙️EP 56 - Professionalism Isn’t Optional
01:01:18||Season 2, Ep. 56Most startups don’t die from bad code. They die from bad leadership.In this episode of The Forge of Unicorns, I sit down with Bryony Cooper (VC, founder, and human-first investor) to unravel the silent killers of startup growth: vanity metrics, boardroom dysfunction, and uncoached leadership.🚨 You’ll learn:• Why professionalism becomes non-negotiable at Series A/B• How bad behavior at the top spreads like wildfire• Why burnout isn’t a founder failure—it’s a system failure• How elite organizations scale people and systems together• The power of a neuroscience-based leadership dojo to rewire culture“Every type of business is about people first.” – Bryony Cooper“You don’t find unicorns. You breed them via behavioral engineering” – Michele Brissoni📈 If you’re still betting on tools instead of people, you’re scaling chaos.🔊 Listen now and unlock what it really takes to evolve beyond the hype.📲 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.💡 Download the open-source Dojo and start building from within.https://swcraftsmanshipdojo.com/📬 Or contact us to get support in your journey to organizational excellence!https://brix.consulting/contact/#Leadership #VentureCapital #BehavioralEngineering #StartupGrowth #Upskilling #Burnout #Elite #Organizations #podcast #tech #techtalk
55. 🎙️ EP55 - From Mediocracy to Mastery 🧭 Rewiring Leadership
01:20:56||Season 2, Ep. 55🎧 EP55 – From Mediocracy to Mastery 🧭 Rewiring Leadership🏷️ How to escape organization mediocracy!Most teams aren’t broken — their leadership is underpowered.In this pivotal episode, Calm Capital’s Marty Balkema and David Horne reveal what really fuels sustainable growth: stewardship, not transformation.From owning vertical SaaS companies to rebuilding cultures from the boardroom down, Calm Capital shows us what happens when leadership gets the coaching, clarity, and support it actually needs.🧠 Inside the episode:Why 91% of digital transformations fail — and how stewardship flips the equation.The secret sauce behind Calm Capital’s high-performing software portfolio.Why emotional trauma, burnout, and disengagement are the hidden cost of leadership neglect.How the Unicorns’ Ecosystem pairs a SW Craftsmanship Dojo for developers with a dedicated evolution track for C-levels and boards — covering governance, OKRs, coaching, and strategy design.Real stories: how a 130-year-old sock manufacturer saved millions by starting small and leading smarter.🎯 This is the playbook for rewiring leadership and turning mediocracy into mastery — from founders to investors to boardroom chairs.🔍 Ready to go deeper?Get the open-source SW Craftsmanship Dojo and see how the Unicorns’ Ecosystem transforms products and people — together.🥋 https://swcraftsmanshipdojo.com/🦄 https://brix.consulting/services/unicorns-ecosystem/🔍 Want to know what’s really blocking growth in your org?We’ll run a free organizational using behavioral markers from the Unicorns’ Ecosystem — and show you where mediocracy hides (before it hits your ROI).📩 Less than 30 seconds! Just drop your email. We’ll handle the rest.No forms. No sales. Just insight.👉 https://forms.gle/eD5XXDqxgxHNAJhUA#leadership #podcast #stewardship #unicornsecosystem #softwareengineering #privateequity #organizationaldesign #OKRs #coaching
54. 🎙️ EP54 - Mediocrity is a leadership choice!
51:45||Season 2, Ep. 54When we say “mediocrity is a leadership choice,” we’re not just being dramatic. In this first face-off between researcher and investor, Mike challenges the venture capital mindset—and VC Oussama Glilah (@ Razor Capital) doesn’t just agree… he confirms it all.💥 From the absence of engineering standards to the myth of plug-and-play talent, this episode dismantles the fantasy that unicorns are born from flashy ideas or frameworks.🔧 They’re built—through behaviorally engineered environments, prompt design, and holistic-elite upskilling that replace cookie-cutter training in favor of more modern programs based on the latest neuroplasticity discoveries!💡 Key insights you’ll hear:• Why 99% of engineers fail to meet Tier A standards—and how to grow them in-house with the SW Craftsmanship Dojo®• The leadership behaviors that unconsciously install mediocrity• How BJ Fogg’s behavioral model unlocks resilience in tech orgs• The brutal waste of $2.5T in 2024 on failed digital transformations (and how 2025 looks even worse with GenAI hype!)• Real startup stories from frontier markets—evolving through user behavior and feedback loops🧠 This isn’t your average “transformation talk” that pours in money and harvests disappointment.It’s the confirmation of two decades of research behind the Unicorns’ Ecosystem:A human-centered system where culture, leadership, and behavior are the real tech stack to build elite organizations—and the tech-savvy organizations of the future.🔊 Ready to evolve?Hit play—and find out why Tier A teams aren’t hired. They’re engineered.⸻🤿 Full deep-dive article drops Thursday → Forge of Unicorns Newsletter🎧 Available on: Acast • Spotify • Apple • YouTube#ForgeOfUnicorns #CraftsmanshipDojo #DigitalTransformation #VCInsights #BehavioralEngineering #LeadershipMatters #GenAIHype #UnicornBuilders
53. 🎙️ EP53 - VibeCoding Won’t Build Unicorns 🦄 … they are engineered 👷🏻♂️
51:06||Season 2, Ep. 53In this mind-blowing episode, I sit down with Andy Will, founder of Willpower Venture Capital, to reveal a bold new approach: behavioral engineering as the ultimate VC advantage.Forget spreadsheets and cookie-cutter playbooks — Andy shares how he backs founders who build elite teams, set cultural standards from day one, and scale without the chaos.🔥 Inside the episode:• Why 0.9% of tech talent is all that matters — and how to find it• How to detect and detox toxic cultures before they sink your startup• The dark truth behind failed transformations (spoiler: it’s not the tech)• Why most VCs are just “chasing tails” — and how to engineer success instead“You’re not fixing chaos. You’re scaling from a clean foundation. That’s the real edge.” — Andy Will🎯 Whether you’re a founder, investor, or tech exec trying to scale, this episode is a wake-up call.🔗 Want to engineer your next unicorn? Dive deeper at Forge of Unicorns 🦄📢 Follow the podcast + drop a 5⭐ if this one hit home.---📰 Deep Dive post: HERE🎥 Youtube version: HERE--- 🏷️ #ForgeOfUnicorns #AndyWill #BehavioralEngineering #VC #PE #Engineering #Culture #Startup #Investing #DigitalEvolution #Unicorn #Blueprint #Talents
52. 🎙️ EP 52 - The Quantum Invasion Is Here: Why Your Software Won’t Survive What’s Coming
47:03||Season 2, Ep. 52🚀 The Quantum Shift Has Officially Begun… 🚀This week on Forge of Unicorns, we sit down with Matthew Cimaglia, Tech Innovator | Multi-Time Founder | Managing Partner at Quantum Coast Capital, leading the charge in quantum technology investments.With NVIDIA’s jaw-dropping Quantum Day announcement, the race just got real. Matthew unpacks:✅ Why Quantum is the next AI moment — but way bigger✅ How coding for Quantum today avoids tomorrow’s tech debt nightmare✅ Why the security apocalypse is closer than you think — and crappy software is doomed💣 “We either invest billions in Quantum today… or spend trillions in defense later.” 💣👉 If your organization is still struggling with GenAI, buckle up — Quantum is already knocking. This is your last chance to fix your software engineering posture before the next disruption wipes you out.🎯 Join the open-source Software Craftsmanship Dojo® — the ONLY proven way to upskill, bulletproof your tech stack, and evolve your org before it’s too late.👉 Contact us ✉️ to get it started!🎧 Listen now — before the quantum wave hits. Tomorrow’s trillion-dollar companies? They’re already coding for it.---📰 Deep Dive post: HERE🎥 Youtube version: HERE---🏷️ #NvidiaQuantum #Nvidia #Quantum #QuantumComputing #TechRevolution #AIFuture #AI #PE #VC #DigitalEvolution #SoftwareCraftsmanship #Unicorns
51. 🎙️ EP 51 – Sam Palazzolo Confirms Our Research
50:19||Season 2, Ep. 51💡 Most companies waste millions on digital transformation—and fail. What if, instead, you could engineer IT into a high-value asset that fuels exponential growth?93% of digital transformations fail. Companies throw money at new tech, yet only 7% see real results. Why? Because transformation isn’t just about software—it’s about leadership, execution, and strategy.🎙️ In this episode of The Forge of Unicorns, Michele Brissoni sits down with Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director at Tip of the Spear Ventures, an elite business strategist who has helped companies scale from $10 million to $1 billion and beyond. With over 1,000 organizations in his portfolio, including global giants like Toyota and GM, Sam reveals why IT isn’t a cost—it’s your company’s greatest untapped goldmine.🔥 What You’ll Discover:✅ Why digital transformations fail—and the exact strategies that make the other 7% succeed.✅ How to turn IT from a budget drain into a profit center—and scale without chaos.✅ The leadership playbook behind billion-dollar companies—and why execution beats innovation.✅ Why blindly adopting Agile, DevOps, or Scaled Agile is a recipe for failure.✅ The key to breaking free from mediocracy and building high-performance teams.🚀 The Big Takeaway?At The Forge of Unicorns, we break down how to engineer high-performance companies. Sam Palazzolo proves that IT isn’t just infrastructure—it’s the hidden force that can drive massive business success.💬 Curious how this applies to your portfolio?✅ Grab your FREE organizational assessment—just mention the podcast: https://brix.consulting/contact/📥 Bonus: Explore the full article breakdown and research on LinkedIn here 👉🎧 Listen now—and discover how to make IT your secret weapon.---📰 Deep Dive post: HERE🎥 Youtube version: HERE--- 🏷️ #VentureCapital #DigitalEvolution #ITLeadership #InvestmentStrategy #TheForgeOfUnicorns