Cultivating a Venture Mindset & Power of Rituals

DisrupTV Episode 365 — Dominic Rizzo, Alex Dang & Michael Norton

On DisrupTV Episode 365, hosts R “Ray” Wang and Vala Afshar welcome three thought leaders:

  • Dominic Rizzo, ex-Google leader, founder of the OpenTitan Project, and CEO of zeroRISC—pursuing secure, open-source silicon ecosystems. 
  • Alex Dang, tech executive and advisor, co-author of The Venture Mindset—shaping innovation with Amazon, AWS, and McKinsey. 
  • Michael Norton, Harvard Business School professor and author of The Ritual Effect—exploring how structured behaviors amplify individual and organizational performance. 

Together, they unpack how blending a venture-focused mindset with intentional rituals and trustworthy infrastructure can spark strategic growth and resilience.

Why This Episode Matters

Engineering Trust in Computing
Rizzo’s work with OpenTitan and zeroRISC is about creating transparency and trust at the hardware level—essential for secure digital innovation. 

Adopting a Venture Mindset
Dang illustrates how a mindset of experimentation, rapid iteration, and risk-taking fuels breakthroughs—drawing from his product leadership at Amazon, AWS, and McKinsey. 

Harnessing Rituals for Consistency
Norton highlights how everyday rituals build habits that lead to productivity, culture-building, and performance—both personally and organizationally.

Key Takeaways

This episode brings to light a synergy of trust, mindset, and structure:

  • Foundation of Trust: Secure, open hardware ecosystems like OpenTitan ensure innovation is built on solid, transparent infrastructure.
  • Growth-Oriented Thinking: A venture mindset—curious, adaptive, and bold—powers organizations to thrive amid uncertainty.
  • Power of Rituals: Repetition and routine, when intentional, become the catalyst for habit formation, discipline, and sustained high performance.

Related Episodes

Final Thoughts

DisrupTV Episode 365 is a masterclass in aligning trust, mindset, and discipline. Dominic Rizzo, Alex Dang, and Michael Norton together show how secure infrastructure, a bold approach to innovation, and the cadence of rituals can anchor success in a world of rapid change.

 

Business Research Themes

Future of Work, Innovation and Product-led Growth, New C-Suite

Roles

Chief Executive Officer, Chief People Officer, Chief Technology Officer