DiscoverThe Forge ๐Ÿ”ฅ of Unicorns - by Michele Brissoni๐ŸŽ™๏ธ EP66 - The $1M AI Mercenary Problem
๐ŸŽ™๏ธ EP66 - The $1M AI Mercenary Problem

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ EP66 - The $1M AI Mercenary Problem

Update: 2025-07-08
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๐Ÿ’ฅ Your tech budget is burningโ€”and hiring hype can kill your culture.

Hereโ€™s the brutal truth:


Boards are shelling out $1M+ to AI engineersโ€”none of whom are scientists in the classical sense


Metaโ€™s Superintelligence Lab just dangled $100Mโ€“$300M packages for top AI talent, while tens of thousands of good people got laid off


Worse: Investors are funding AI hires not to build software, but to create products that enable layoffsโ€”fueling a toxic, nonsensical cycle


In this eye-opening episode, Michele Brissoni sits down with Sean Smith to reveal how hype hires destroy ROI, while true transformation demands behavioral discipline and operational mastery.


๐ŸŽฏ What Youโ€™ll Discover:

๐Ÿ’ธ The Meta Superintelligence paradox: sky-high compensation, no neuroscience depth


๐Ÿคก Why the $1M AI hire is the ultimate mercenaryโ€”money in, culture out


๐Ÿงฉ The blinding absurdity: โ€œ10 certified Scrum Masters shouting at one coderโ€


๐ŸŽ๏ธ Why building like an F1 pit crew beats superstar hiring


๐Ÿ” How small, disciplined steps produce real, sustainable ROI


๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Quotes That Hit Hard:

โ€œWe are people from the market, providing them a lot of cash โ€ฆ not their culture.โ€

โ€œ10 Scrum Masters screaming at one paddling engineer.โ€

โ€œThis performance isnโ€™t achievable with casual leadership.โ€


๐Ÿ’ก If You Care Aboutโ€ฆ

Keeping your team (and culture) alive during layoffs


Spending on tools or people that actually deliver ROI


Leadership that doesnโ€™t cheat the process


โ€ฆthis episode cuts through the noise.


๐Ÿš€ Stop Buying, Start Training

Want to stop lighting cash on fire?

Cut through the hype. Cultivate behavior. Build talent from withinโ€”daily.

Begin with a behavioral assessment and start evolving with the Unicornsโ€™ Ecosystem.


๐Ÿ‘‰ https://unicorns-ecosystem.com/


๐Ÿ“ฅ Subscribe & Stay Woke

Donโ€™t miss the next episodeโ€”hit ๐Ÿ”” and subscribe now.


๐Ÿท๏ธ Tags

#DigitalTransformation #AI #Layoffs #Meta #EngineeringCulture #BehavioralEngineering #TechLeadership #Podcast #UnicornsEcosystem


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๐ŸŽ™๏ธ EP66 - The $1M AI Mercenary Problem

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ EP66 - The $1M AI Mercenary Problem