The Forge 🔥 of Unicorns - by Michele Brissoni

They think they’re doing software right. But they’ve never seen real excellence. That’s the leadership trap and why companies stall, lose talent, and drift into mediocrity. In this honest conversation with unicorn builder Alexander Steeb , we expose the hidden dysfunctions behind underperforming IT teams, blind leadership, and the cost of hype-driven decisions. 👉 Why most organizations don’t know...

Compliance 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, ethi...

Most 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...

🎧 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,...

When 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 bor...

In 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 tale...

🚀 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...

💡 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 Forg...

🎙️ Episode 50: The Unicorns’ Ecosystem—Flipping the Script on IT Investments 🚀 📰 Original blog post: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ep-50-975-investments-doomed-heres-how-top-flipping-brissoni-np79f/ --- 💰 97.5% of IT investments NEVER reach unicorn status. 📉 Even those that do, 80% see their valuations crash—nearly 30% fall below the $1B mark. 🤯 Yet, most investors still rely on gut instinct...

🎙️ Episode 49 - The Open-Source Playbook Investors Are Using to Engineer Unicorns 🚀 📰 Original Blog post: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ep-49-want-engineer-unicorns-open-source-playbook-already-brissoni-8gpuf/ 🛑 52% of Fortune 500 Companies Have Vanished Since 2000—Have We Really Learned Why They Failed? 👉 Some investors have—and they’re quietly engineering unicorns while others keep making t...

🎙️ EP 48 – Fake Productivity: The Deadly Illusion of AI-Generated Code 💣 📰 Original blog post with all the bibliography: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ep48-fake-productivity-deadly-illusion-ai-generated-brissoni-rlp8c/ --- AI-generated code is flooding development workflows faster than ever—but are we really moving forward, or are we just accelerating into chaos? In this episode of The Forge of...

🎙️💣 Lost Millions in IT? Here’s the 300% Stock Surge Playbook Auditors Loved 😍 🎙️ 📰 Original article - HERE . Hey digital warriors! ⚔️ In this episode of The Forge of Unicorns , we dive deep into an incredible IT turnaround story —from hemorrhaging millions to a 300% stock surge , all thanks to behavioral engineering , OKRs , and rock-solid IT governance . 💥 What’s inside this episode? ✅ How...

🎙️ EP46 - Scaling Excellence: The OKR Lessons from a Bold CIO 🎙️ 📰 Orignal Blog Post: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ep46-scaling-excellence-okr-lessons-from-bold-cio-michele-brissoni-cbhef/?trackingId=870B2EfrQOWfg2mHtoihuw%3D%3D Are your OKRs driving true excellence, or are they just glorified KPIs enforcing compliance? In this episode, we break down a real-world transformation where a bold CIO...

🎙️ Episode 45 📇 From Mediocracy to Mastery: How the Dojos’ Ecosystem Became the Engine of Evolution 🌱 In the AI-driven economy, software excellence isn’t a luxury—it’s a competitive necessity. The recent DeepSeek R1 launch sent shockwaves through the market , wiping over $1 trillion from the Nasdaq , proving that high-quality software beats brute-force infrastructure spending. But how do you sys...

EP 44 - Behind the Curtain: The Digital Evolution That Redefined Excellence 🎭🚀 📰 Original Blog Post 🔊 IT was a liability. Deployments were slow. Teams were burned out. Leadership was flying blind. Sound familiar? This episode pulls back the curtain on a real story from the trenches —where IT, once a black hole of inefficiency, was rewired into a $5B strategic goldmine. 📉 What went wrong? •Leg...

🎙️ Episode 43: From Chaos to Gold – How IT Can Rise Like a Phoenix 📰 Original Blog Post In this episode, we tackle a hard truth: most IT departments are treated as cost centers, shackled by inefficiencies and shadow IT that drains profitability . Instead of driving innovation and enhancing product or service value, they’re stuck in mediocracy, operating in subpar ways that fail to contribute to o...

📰 Original Blog Post: HERE . In this episode of The Forge of Unicorns 🦄, we uncover the #1 reason most digital transformations crash and burn —and it’s not what you think. It’s not IT teams, tech budgets, or even unrealistic timelines. The real culprit? 👉 Leadership’s lack of engagement and alignment. Join us as we: 💡 Explore why 70% of digital transformation failures start at the boardroom, b...

Episode 41 - From Desert 🌵 to Forest 🌳: Turning IT Into a Goldmine of Opportunity 💰 📰 Original Blog post In this episode of The Forge of Unicorns , we take you on a transformative journey, exploring how IT can evolve from a costly liability into a profit-driving, strategic asset. The secret? Behavioral Markers —or Key Behavioral Indicators (KBIs)—that reveal whether your organization is thrivi...

🎧 Podcast Description: Episode 40 – Scaling IT Excellence: From Transformation to Evolution 🎙️🚀 📰 Original blog post HERE In this episode of The Forge of Unicorns , we cut through the noise of buzzwords and hype to address the heart of IT’s most critical challenge: scaling excellence . 💡 The numbers don’t lie: • 91% of digital transformations fail (McKinsey, 2020). • 77% of employees are disen...

🎧 Podcast Title : EP39 – A Year to Remember: Reflecting on 2024 and the Road Ahead 🌟 📰 Original Blog HERE 2024 was a year like no other for the IT world—marked by firsts, challenges, and transformative insights. In this episode, we take a deep dive into the highlights, lessons, and pivotal moments that shaped the year. 🎙️ What’s Inside? •📈 The IT Inflation Era : How 2024 rewrote history with t...

🎙️ Episode 38: “The Rise of the Behavioral Engineer – How Data Fuels Transformation” 🚀 In this episode, we explore the cutting-edge field of behavioral engineering and its growing influence on the IT landscape. Behavioral engineering isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a data-driven approach that transforms how organizations evolve, innovate, and thrive in an ever-changing world. 🌍📊 Key takeaways includ...

🎙️ EP37 - A Real Story of Socio-Technical Evolution 🌱 The Unicorns’ Touch How do you turn chaos into cohesion? In this episode of The Forge of Unicorns , we share a real-world story of transformation—where a team on the brink of burnout and organizational dysfunction evolved into a high-performing unit delivering an industry-leading platform. 🚀 🔎 What You’ll Discover: •The nitty gritty details...

🎙️ Episode 36: Unlocking the Wisdom of #IAD24 - Talks That Inspire Digital Transformation Success In this episode of The Forge of Unicorns , we dive into the brilliance of the Italian Agile Day 2024 (#IAD24), where transformative ideas, inspiring stories, and actionable insights took center stage. 🌟 Join us as we explore: • Michele Brissoni’s talk , “Stop Transforming, Start Evolving,” where soci...

🎙️ Episode 35: The Change Strategy Revolutionizing Boardrooms—Our Unique Formula, Your Competitive Edge 💼 Why do over 90% of digital transformations fail? In this episode, we break down the real reason behind these staggering stats—it’s not the tech, it’s the approach. Join us as we explore two contrasting change management scenarios through an A/B test: • Scenario A : The classic top-down trainw...

🎙️ Episode 34: The Dangerous Myth of Harmless Behaviors – Sabotaging High-Performance Organizations 🚨 In this episode of Forge of Unicorns , we explore the hidden impact of “harmless” behaviors in software organizations and how they quietly undermine collaboration, innovation, and performance. Inspired by insights from behavioral engineering and real-world organizational challenges, this episode...