Our Approach
The point of strategic planning isn’t to create a plan.
The point is to make positive change.
The Human Side of Change
Developing a great document only takes you halfway to the goal of making positive change; you also need a team of people who are clear about, focused on, and invested in the goals it contains. We believe the right planning process not only delivers a superb plan, it also mentally and emotionally prepares staff and key partners to implement that plan. Our approach, refined over twenty years, focuses on winning over people’s hearts and minds as well as making the right strategic decisions.
Getting Strategic, Staying Practical
Planning in federal agencies is often long, laborious, and driven by process rather than outcomes. All too often, the practical usefulness of finished plans is not commensurate with the time, energy, and money spent to complete them.
At New Line we aim to reverse that trend, developing streamlined plans in relatively short time frames that are focused on taking action from the very beginning. That’s why we call the final product a Strategic Action Plan .
A Breakthrough Approach
In addition to traditional forecasting, we incorporate innovation-based methods such as Backcasting and Design Thinking that encourage a breakthrough mindset. This often results in specific new ideas that organizations have never considered before.
Our ability to catalyze out-of-the-box thinking is balanced by rigorous discipline in implementation: we insist on specific and measurable targets, detailed timelines, and personal commitments from key leaders. The result is that clients come away with not only a new vision for the future, but also the practical details and personal dedication required to make it happen.
What People Are Saying
“I have never seen results like those we've experienced since we did strategic planning with New Line three years ago. You can have good ideas, good people, and even good leadership, but when you focus all of that on the key things that will make the biggest difference, something extraordinary can happen.”
“New Line’s team and strategic planning programs were transformative leadership experiences that set me on the course I’m on now. Years later, I still apply things I learned on a regular basis. I hope many others in the NPS will have a chance to be impacted by this powerful work.”
“The training we did with New Line positioned us to continue our tradition of pride and accomplishment after a period of turmoil. The work ranged from intensely personal dialogue, which restored our trust, to detailed clarification of roles and processes. The trainers’ insight, skills and in-depth knowledge of our agency were critical to the successes we achieved.”