Maverick Author
Bestselling Author, Speaker & Founder-CEO of Skyrocket Education and Rebel Culture
"Culture is everywhere. And we are in far more control of the culture in our lives than some of us may think."
About Michael Sonbert
Michael is a bestselling author, speaker, and founder-CEO of Skyrocket Education and Rebel Culture. With over 20 years leading cultural transformation—from urban schools to Fortune 500s—he's helped teams at Google, Northwell Health, and Notre Dame thrive. As "America's Culture Coach," Michael empowers leaders from Detroit to Dubai, Philadelphia to the Philippines to build purpose-driven organizations. A former middle school English teacher in South Philadelphia, he discovered that the same principles that create breakthrough classroom cultures can transform any team, family, or personal life.
Chapter: "The Unshakeable Culture Code"
Why This Chapter Matters
Most leaders spend months crafting core values, hanging them on walls, and hoping they stick—only to find that nobody can remember them six months later. Meanwhile, toxic behaviors spread, talented people quit, and the culture you wanted remains frustratingly out of reach. Michael Sonbert reveals why this happens and, more importantly, shows you the exact five-step process to intentionally design the culture you want—not just at work, but in every relationship and area of your life.
Culture Isn't Optional—It's Already Happening
At a school carnival, Michael noticed something troubling: kids snatching pizza without permission, stuffing candy into backpacks, wrestling on inflatables while parents yelled ineffectively. It wasn't that the kids were bad—it was that no one had intentionally built a culture of respect and responsibility. The same thing happens in boardrooms, on teams, and in our personal lives. Culture is the collection of beliefs, values, and behaviors that a group shares—and whether you design it or not, it's forming right now.
From Fortune 500 Boardrooms to Your Living Room
Rick draws powerful lessons from history's most inspiring leaders—from Abraham Lincoln's preservation of a nation to Winston Churchill's wartime resilience. He reveals Rick Pitino's secret to leading six different college basketball teams to the NCAA Tournament over an unprecedented 40-year span: creating positive cultures where attitude becomes contagious, belief becomes transferable, and over-believers become over-achievers.
"You will never, ever operate in a culture-less space. Your kids will be rude and self-centered or they'll be polite and cognizant of others. Your team will complain, miss things, and blame each other, or they'll seek solutions, be impeccable with their word, and look inward when they fall short."
What You'll Learn
The exact five-step process Fortune 500 companies and championship teams use to build winning cultures—and how to apply it to your family, friendships, and personal life
Why core values fail (and how to make them so clear that a five-year-old or brand-new employee could embody them immediately)
The "message it until they mock you" strategy that makes culture stick when everything else falls apart
How to praise and redirect with ease once you've built the foundation—turning accountability from awkward to automatic
The truth about "Do as I say, not as I do" and why embodying what matters is the non-negotiable third keystone
Three Transformative Takeaways:
1. Define It, Don't Discover It
Most people wait for culture to emerge naturally—then wonder why they get gossip instead of collaboration, excuses instead of accountability. Culture left to chance becomes culture you don't want. Michael teaches you how to consciously define what matters with such clarity that there's no confusion about expectations. Your partner knows. Your kids know. Your team knows. And that clarity changes everything.
2. Culture Is a Daily Shower, Not a One-Time Build
Bridges, once built, stay built. Culture doesn't work that way. Skip a week of messaging what matters, and people notice. Skip a month, and your culture deteriorates. Skip a few months, and it's an absolute mess. The Five Keystones Model creates a sustainable rhythm—start meetings with core value reflections, include shout-outs in weekly emails, ask your kids at dinner where they solved problems. These small, consistent habits maintain the culture you worked so hard to create.
3. Redirecting Is Easy When the Foundation Is Solid
Leaders tell Michael they need help with accountability, but they've skipped the first four keystones. They haven't defined what matters. Nobody can recite their values. They don't embody them consistently. They never praise anyone. Then they wonder why "holding people accountable" feels impossible. Michael shows that once you've built the foundation, redirecting becomes simple: "The expectation is X. You did Y. I'm not angry—I'm just letting you know and asking you to meet it going forward." Clear expectations eliminate ego-driven pushback.
Michael's Impact
Michael has coached leaders across six continents, from Detroit to Dubai, Philadelphia to the Philippines. His workshops transform Fortune 500 teams at Google, Northwell Health, and Notre Dame.
Connect with Michael Sonbert
Website: www.RebelCulture.com
Instagram: @michaelsonbertofficial
