This is a book about organized common sense in the fire service. It is designed to be effective as a manual for developing an individual fire department's strategic plan as well as a textbook for use in upper-division college and university courses or as a resource for post-graduate courses.

Section I of the third edition provides support to fire departments that already have a strategic plan and just need to update and revise their existing plan. In his 30 years of experience consulting with fire departments, author Mark Wallace has found that departments want to accomplish the next iteration of their strategic plans as rapidly as possible.

Section II of the book provides a detailed how-to guide to help a fire department create its first strategic plan. It is divided into four parts: (1) Understanding the Department, (2) Understanding the Situation, (3) Understanding the Strategic Issues Facing the Department, and (4) Creating Organizational Change.

Chapter 20, new to this edition, provides a troubleshooting process for departments struggling with their strategic plan so that they may better obtain desired outcomes.

The accompanying Instructor's Guide (new with the third edition) is designed for use in a 15-week semester course.