Strategic planning is a process by which the guiding members of an organization envision its future and develop tactics to achieve that future. This paper discusses the nature and purposes of strategic planning in educational organizations, and presents a 10-step generic model to illustrate the basic components of strategic planning. These 10 steps, each discussed in depth, are as follows: (1) pre-planning; (2) the values audit, where organizational values are determined; (3) development of mission statements; (4) the environmental scan, to identify trends, threats, and opportunities facing the organization; (5) the resource audit, to identify internal strengths and weaknesses; (6) the building of a strategic profile, setting goals for where the organization wants to be in three years and how progress toward those goals can be measured; (7) the performance audit, to assess the current state of the organization when measured against the goals; (8) the development of functional plans to allocate resources toward achieving goals; (9) implementation of the functional plans at the program level; and (10) evaluation of progress toward goals and of the strategic planning effort as a whole. The objectives of strategic planning are to focus attention on the organization's role and purpose, to recognize internal and external realities, to maximize opportunities for the organization's survival and growth, to allocate resources according to priorities, and to reach consensus on future strategies. (TE)