At a series of four "Issues That Matter" meetings held by the Education Department's Office of Vocational and Adult Education over the last academic year, nearly 80 college leaders gathered to discuss issues urgent to community colleges. All are familiar--the need to create career pathways, improve articulation and developmental education, and serve adults with low literacy levels. These leaders were unafraid to push the envelope, highly aware of the new realities--demographic, technological, and economic--that demand change in the way educators educate people for work and for life. In this article, the author shares some of the promising practices discussed in their "master class." Most of the ideas deal with multiple issues: student success, college finances, and community and industry needs. Although these practices range widely, they have several important points in common.