ISMs Day

The Situation

ISMs Day is, at its core, a founder's day. Dan Gilbert created the ISMs — the cultural philosophies that have shaped Rocket for over 40 years — and their meaning to him is so personal that he gives the entire day to sharing them directly with team members. That level of founder presence is rare, and it sets the tone for everything: this isn't a company event, it's a cultural commitment. But when major acquisitions rapidly doubled the workforce, the format needed to evolve to match the moment.

In April 2026, ~300 of the company's most senior leaders — flown in from across the U.S. — gathered in the founder's newly opened Hudson building in Detroit. The opportunity: transform ISMs Day from an orientation event into a leadership activation platform — aligning the top layer of the organization so culture could scale through them.

My Role

I led strategy, content, and experience design for the April ISMs Day — partnering closely with the founder to evolve a long-standing orientation into a high-impact leadership platform. Over more than a decade working on ISMs Day, I've helped steward its evolution, bringing continuity while redefining its role in each new phase of growth.

Strategy  ·  Executive Alignment  ·  Experience Design  ·  Content Direction  ·  Facilitation

The Approach

1. Transform Orientation into Activation

Reframed ISMs Day from passive introduction to active leadership platform — designed to move leaders from understanding values to applying them in real decisions.

2. Use Environment to Signal Importance

Brought leaders together physically in the Hudson, anchoring the experience in founder presence, shared space, and intentional moments to create a high-signal cultural reset.

3. Design for Cascade, Not Containment

Built the experience around the assumption that these leaders would carry culture forward — equipping them with stories, language, and tools to translate values into team-level behavior.

The Work

• ISMs Day leadership platform — Redesigned and delivered flagship experience for ~300 senior leaders in Detroit
• Executive narrative & content — Leadership storytelling grounded in real decisions and acquisition context
• Leader action guide & workbook — Tools for reflection, application, and team-level cascade
• Interactive moments & activities — Designed to drive participation and connection in the room
• Feedback & insights framework — Multi-channel system capturing real-time and post-event data

The Impact

The event shifted ISMs Day from orientation to leadership activation — achieving 90%+ favorability, understanding, and confidence in applying the ISMs in daily decision-making. Nearly 9 in 10 leaders left with clear, applicable takeaways and confidence in guiding their teams.

More importantly, it validated the model for scaling culture during acquisition. The structured feedback — on interactivity, relevance, and enablement — is now informing the next phase: evolving ISMs Day from a one-time event into a repeatable system for a rapidly growing organization.