🎙️EP82 - The Last Mile: Why AI Adoption Isn't Enough
Tue Dec 02 2025
AI Readiness Gap: Why 70-90% AI adoption with 30-50% readiness is costing billions. The Last Mile framework for CTOs to complete AI coding tool investments.
The data is clear: companies are pouring millions into GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code, Windsurf. Adoption rates hit 70-90%. But organizational readiness sits at 30-50%. That 40-point gap is where ROI disappears and technical debt compounds at machine speed.
GitClear 2024 reveals the damage:
- 39.9% drop in refactored code
- 17.1% YoY increase in code duplication
- Enterprise app lifespan collapsing
The human cost:
- 77% developers disengaged
- 40% experiencing burnout
- Sick leave rising across the industry
This isn't CTO failure. This is the AI readiness gap—a structural challenge at hypergrowth speed that no single leader can solve alone.
After 3 years and 130+ interviews with people who built 52 unicorns, I'm making a strategic shift. Pressing pause on the weekly format to focus completely on the last mile: helping organizations close their AI readiness gap.
In this episode:
- Why AI adoption without readiness creates technical debt at machine speed
- The "Last Mile" framework for completing AI investments
- The 2026 vision: real companies facing real challenges + elite crafters from the trenches
- How the free AI Readiness Assessment reveals your gaps
- The win-win-win model: you close the gap, become the case study, the industry learns
This is not an ending. This is an evolution.
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🎙️ ABOUT MICHELE (MIKE) BRISSONI
Host of The Forge of Unicorns and founder of the Software Craftsmanship Dojo®. 35+ years on the tatami, 25+ years practicing TDD, 20+ years building behavioral engineering methodologies for elite software teams. F1-inspired precision. Zero tolerance for mediocrity.
130+ interviews. 52 unicorns analyzed. One pattern: AI adoption without organizational readiness creates chaos. The mission now: help CTOs complete their AI investments through systematic behavioral engineering.
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🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES
🎯 FREE AI Readiness Assessment (30 min):
👉 https://brix.consulting/free-ai-readiness-assessment/
🥋 Software Craftsmanship Dojo®:
👉 https://swcraftsmanshipdojo.com/
🎧 Listen on your platform:
- Spotify: https://go.brix.consulting/Spotify
- Apple Podcasts: https://go.brix.consulting/ApplePodcast
- Acast: https://shows.acast.com/the-forge-of-unicorns
📝 Deep Dive Article and newsletter:
- Substack: https://theforgeofunicorns.substack.com/
- LinkedIn: https://go.brix.consulting/ForgeOfUnicorns
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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AI Readiness Gap: Why 70-90% AI adoption with 30-50% readiness is costing billions. The Last Mile framework for CTOs to complete AI coding tool investments. The data is clear: companies are pouring millions into GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code, Windsurf. Adoption rates hit 70-90%. But organizational readiness sits at 30-50%. That 40-point gap is where ROI disappears and technical debt compounds at machine speed. GitClear 2024 reveals the damage: - 39.9% drop in refactored code - 17.1% YoY increase in code duplication - Enterprise app lifespan collapsing The human cost: - 77% developers disengaged - 40% experiencing burnout - Sick leave rising across the industry This isn't CTO failure. This is the AI readiness gap—a structural challenge at hypergrowth speed that no single leader can solve alone. After 3 years and 130+ interviews with people who built 52 unicorns, I'm making a strategic shift. Pressing pause on the weekly format to focus completely on the last mile: helping organizations close their AI readiness gap. In this episode: - Why AI adoption without readiness creates technical debt at machine speed - The "Last Mile" framework for completing AI investments - The 2026 vision: real companies facing real challenges + elite crafters from the trenches - How the free AI Readiness Assessment reveals your gaps - The win-win-win model: you close the gap, become the case study, the industry learns This is not an ending. This is an evolution. --- 🎙️ ABOUT MICHELE (MIKE) BRISSONI Host of The Forge of Unicorns and founder of the Software Craftsmanship Dojo®. 35+ years on the tatami, 25+ years practicing TDD, 20+ years building behavioral engineering methodologies for elite software teams. F1-inspired precision. Zero tolerance for mediocrity. 130+ interviews. 52 unicorns analyzed. One pattern: AI adoption without organizational readiness creates chaos. The mission now: help CTOs complete their AI investments through systematic behavioral engineering. --- 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🎯 FREE AI Readiness Assessment (30 min): 👉 https://brix.consulting/free-ai-readiness-assessment/ 🥋 Software Craftsmanship Dojo®: 👉 https://swcraftsmanshipdojo.com/ 🎧 Listen on your platform: - Spotify: https://go.brix.consulting/Spotify - Apple Podcasts: https://go.brix.consulting/ApplePodcast - Acast: https://shows.acast.com/the-forge-of-unicorns 📝 Deep Dive Article and newsletter: - Substack: https://theforgeofunicorns.substack.com/ - LinkedIn: https://go.brix.consulting/ForgeOfUnicorns Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.