Although vocational educators seem to be agreed on the priorities for their profession, research has found that the quality of vocational programs overall is highly variable and that the access of disadvantaged students to good programs is not ensured. The literature suggests that the challenges posed by new technologies and new clients, and a lack of effective problem-solving and decision-making strategies for managing change toward desired ends may be responsible for vocational educators' failure to achieve their objectives. A planning process which begins at the action-level and is responsible to local situations might serve as a strategy for realizing the potential of vocational education. The components of such a process would include the following: (1) define and prioritize the opportunities and challenges faced by the organizational unit over the next 6 to 18 months; (2) develop specific action plans to engage high-priority challenges and pursue high-priority opportunities; (3) set up controls in the form of periodic progress reviews to keep action plans on track; and (4) submit a financial summary as a cost-benefit analysis tool. This process, though demanding a new and unique approach to decision making, fits comfortably into existing institutional structures. (AYC)