Chief financial officers in today's universities are so busy with the challenges of day-to-day management that strategic thinking often takes a back seat. Planning for strategic change can go a long way toward streamlining the very daily tasks that obscure the "big picture." Learning how to integrate strategic thinking into day-to-day management can transform an institution into a strategic organization that operates with an effective understanding of environment, mission, and values. Written with an emphasis on finance and budget strategies, Nathan Dickmeyer brings his many years as a consultant, chief financial officer, member of accreditation teams, and higher education researcher and writer to this insightful discussion of strategic thinking from the CFO's point of view. He shares lessons learned from hundreds of experiences and pinpoints common problems and common-sense solutions in finance, planning and management. Chief financial officers, planning officers, presidents, and other administrative staff involved in the strategic planning process will benefit from Dickmeyer's integrative approach. Fictional vignettes, based on hundreds of one-on-one experiences in a variety of university settings, illustrate the problems of the classic approach to planning and show how "on the job" strategic thinking works. A bibliography is included. (Contains 5 figures.)