About Newton Institute
Learn more about who we are and how we can serve you best.
Who We Are:
Newton Institute is a leadership development company built on one core idea: people and organizations perform best when they understand their unique design.
We believe that before you can figure out what to do — as a leader, a team, or an organization — you have to understand who you are. That's the foundation for clarity, alignment, and lasting growth.
This belief shapes everything we build: assessments, workshops, coaching programs, and AI-enabled tools — all designed to help people and organizations uncover their design and activate their purpose.
Newton Institute began in 2010 as an internal leadership development program — created by Rick Newton to grow leaders within the consulting company he'd founded. As Newton Consulting grew, Rick found himself at the center of every major decision — working 70-80 hour weeks just to keep the organization aligned around its mission, vision, and values. He realized the only path to a sustainable, scalable company was developing leaders who could operate from their own authentic design. That realization became the seed of what we now call "Start With Who."
In 2015, Rick partnered with fellow thought leader Dr. John Stahl-Wert to launch Newton Institute as its own company — combining their respective approaches to serve a growing marketplace of leaders and organizations.
In 2018, a serious health crisis gave Rick an unexpected season of reflection. As a result, Rick refocused Newton Institute around the original Start With Who approach he'd developed.
In 2024, Rick sold his consulting businesses to focus entirely on Newton Institute. Since then, the work has centered on two things: writing Rick's book, Start With Who (releasing Fall 2026), and building a suite of AI-enabled tools — including MPACT, AskIsaac, and WisdomBase — that bring these principles to life for leaders, teams, and organizations everywhere.
Our Story
We believe every person and every organization has a unique design — and that design is the foundation for everything else.
For leaders, operating outside of your design means falling short of your full potential — trying to be all things to all people and carrying a burden you were never meant to carry. When you understand your unique design, you're given permission to just be yourself. That clarity frees you to invite others into the gaps, delegate with confidence, and lead in a way that actually energizes you.
For teams, understanding each other's design creates something most teams never experience: genuine empathy, higher collaboration, and the kind of adaptability that makes a team truly high-performing. Start With Who is the foundation for synergy — not as a concept, but as a daily reality.
For organizations, design is the prerequisite to mission, vision, and values. Without it, your Mission, Vision and Values are just words on a wall. With it, every person and every function can align around a common purpose — and that's what a flourishing culture is actually built on.
Our Mission / What We Believe
Our Team?
Our Tools/Solutions
AskIsaac
A personal thought partner that helps you interpret your data and refine your ideas.
Start With Who
A framework built around the foundational principle of understanding WHO you are, and aligning your purpose to flow out of your unique design.
WisdomBase
An internal knowledge library that removes bottlenecks by making key information accessible to every employee.
MPACT
An assessment that gives language to how each person uniquely contributes to and elevates their team.
Find Your Next Step
Whether you’re a leader looking to elevate your own journey or want to help your team or organization flourish, connect with us to learn more about our programs and suite of tools.