Great organizations have a clear sense of what they want to accomplish and how they are going to get there. For state boards of education, this vision and roadmap are typically articulated in a strategic plan. The best plans are living documents that guide state board actions or multiple years; lesser plans gather dust. What separates the two? The answer lies partly in what the plan includes, partly in the process by which state boards arrive at the plan, and in large measure by what happens after the state board approves the plan.