Presidents and boards deal with great uncertainty all the time. Today, however, many of them also face a troubling certainty: Business as usual is the road to failure. The trend lines of revenue and expense, once aided by marginal income from growing enrollments, once amenable to marginal annual balancing tweaks, and once cushioned by reserves, are simply not sustainable. Steps to developing an effective strategic-finance plan include deciding where the institution needs to be in the future, focusing resources on new strategies that lead toward that target, aligning all institutional priorities with the target in mind, and creating a collaborative culture to support strategic initiatives. Youngstown State University, like many other colleges and universities, is facing circumstances that demand new solutions. The board and executive leadership are working together as never before to create a way forward for years to come. They are confronting a number of challenges. Growing enrollment brings more tuition, but state and investment funds no longer supplement tuition to equal the cost of educating each student. In this article, the authors share the story of Youngstown State University. (Contains 2 resources.)