This book provides a tool to help school administrators take control of their lives, detailing creative strategies for surviving the daily grind while honing a vision of successful schools. Sixteen chapters examine: (1) "Surveying the Terrain: Getting Smarter About the Politics of Education"; (2) "The Vision Thing: Getting Smarter About Charting Your Course"; (3) "Principal Dearest: Getting Smarter About Cutting the Cord"; (4) "Who's Renting Space in Your Skull? Getting Smarter about the Minefield Within"; (5) "Hire the Best: Getting Smarter About Selecting Staff"; (6) "The Fezziwig Principle: Getting Smarter About Motivating Staff"; (7) "Do Nothing for Staff That They Can Do for Themselves: Getting Smarter About Distributing Leadership"; (8) "Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Getting Smarter about Supervising Instruction"; (9) "Pruning in the Minefield: Getting Smarter About Evaluation and Dismissal"; (10) "The In-Box Never Sleeps: Getting Smarter About Communication Systems"; (11) "Message in a Bottle: Getting Smarter About Public Relations"; (12) "Knowledge is Power: Getting Smarter about Professional Growth"; (13) "A Mentor a Day: Getting Smarter about Personal Growth"; (14) "Living Well is the Best Revenge: Getting Smarter About Managing Stress"; (15) "Warpaint: Getting Smarter Under Fire"; and (16) "Moving On: Getting Smarter About Time and Tide." (Contains 15 bibliographic references.) (SM)