What does it really take to fix a billion-dollar bottleneck inside a company famous for saying no to new spending? And how do you translate that same problem-solving into one of the world’s largest bureaucracies?
This week, I sat down with Danielle McCormick, Founder of Immersive Insights, whose talent for turning messy systems into high-performance engines has saved companies like Southwest Airlines and defense contractors billions of dollars.
At Southwest, Danielle faced a straightforward request: get a single aircraft hangar approved. What she uncovered instead was a tangled web of disconnected teams, undersized infrastructure, and a fleet plan with no roadmap for growth. Her answer was radical in its simplicity: build a twenty-year plan that no one could refute, backed by math and front-line buy-in.
From aligning network planning, airport affairs, ground operations, and maintenance to fighting for trust on the hangar floor, Danielle reveals how real innovation is often about listening better and connecting the dots others overlook.
She then shares how she applied this same mindset to the Department of Defense, navigating the notorious “Valley of Death” to bring cutting-edge counter-drone technology into the hands of young warfighters, proving that even the most rigid organizations can adapt when they care about the people at the end of the process.
Stick around to hear Danielle’s answers to my three hot seat questions: the greatest innovation of all time, the historic team she would join in a heartbeat, and her wish for how to fix the workplace once and for all.
If you want to understand how process innovation works in the real world and why it is more human than technical, this is an episode you cannot miss.
About Danielle
Name: Danielle McCormick
Title: Founder
Company: Immersive Insights
LinkedIn | Website |
Danielle McCormick is a battle-tested business strategist who transforms bureaucratic quagmires into high-performance engines. She has helped industry leaders like Southwest Airlines and Wayfair unlock over $1 billion in savings through surgical process redesign and strategic innovation. Danielle has also successfully navigated the notorious “Valley of Death,” expertly guiding breakthrough technologies from early development to successful adoption within the complex Defense market.
As the founder of Immersive Insights, Danielle engineers resilient, adaptive systems for defense contractors entering commercial markets and Fortune 500 companies seeking an operational edge. Her innovative approach to business enablement empowers organizations to become anti-fragile—positioning them to thrive and scale regardless of economic volatility or regulatory complexity. Danielle’s strategic insights and actionable methodologies have made her a highly sought-after advisor for executives determined to future-proof their businesses.
