Gail Dexter Lord is co-founder and co-president of Lord Cultural Resources. With Barry Lord, she is co-editor of The Manual of Museum Planning (1991, 1999, 2012), co-author of The Manual of Museum Management (1997 and 2009), and with Kate Markert co-author of the first edition of the Manual of Strategic Planning for Museums (2007). Gail's most recent book is Cities, Museums and Soft Power (co-authored with Ngaire Blankenberg in 2015).

Kate Markert is executive director of Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens in Washington, D.C., where, as the result of a strategic planning process, a special exhibition program and revitalized gardens have spurred a 50 percent increase in attendance over five years and has tripled the membership. She has been director of the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford Connecticut, associate director of the Walters Art Museum, and deputy director and acting director of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Chapter 1
WHY Conduct a Strategic Plan?
1.1 Forces of Change
1.2 Understanding Your Cultural Organization
1.3 The Significance of Foundations Statements
Case Study 1.1: The Guggenheim Bilbao Strategic Vision 2020
Case Study 1.2: Why do you Need Libraries Anyway? The County of Los Angeles Public Library Strategic Plan: A Case Study
Case Study 1.3: Soft Power and The Gardiner Museum's Strategic Plan
Chapter 2
WHEN to Conduct a Strategic Plan
2.1 Professional Standards
2.2 New Director
2.3 New Circumstances
2.4 New and Renewed Facilities and New Location
2.5 Readiness Checklist
Case Study 2.1: It's Time for Strategic Planning at the Whitney Museum of American Art
Case Study 2.2: A New Strategic Direction for the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Chapter 3
WHO AND WHAT: The Structure of Strategic Planning
3.1 Leadership
3.2 Facilitation
3.3 The Ten Steps of Strategic Planning
Case Study 3.1: Tafelmusik's Strategic Plan for Acoustical Excellence
Case Study 3.2: Benefits of Strategic Planning in Science Centers
Chapter 4
HOW: Methods of Engagement
4.1 Principles of Strategic Planning
4.2 Internal Assessment
4.2.3 Using Technology
4.3 External Assessment
Case Study 4.1: Why Strategic Planning for Cultural Organizations Needs to Include the City
Case Study 4.2: How Art League Houston Engaged Communities
Chapter 5
From Problems to Strategies
5.1 Thinking Strategically
5.2 Identifying Key Issues
5.3 Comparison and Benchmarking
5.4 Construction of Scenarios
Case Study 5.1: The Role of Strategic Planning in Formalizing and Communicating the Changing Role of the Toronto Zoo
Case Study 5.2: A New Governance Strategy for the Tom Thomson Art Gallery
Chapter 6
From Strategies to Goals: The Strategic Planning Retreat
6.1 Setting Realistic Objectives for the Retreat
6.2 The Retreat Agenda
6.3 Retreat Report
Case Study 6.1: Creativity is Center Stage in Strategic Planning for Roundabout Theatre Company
Chapter 7
From Goals to Objectives and Tasks
7.1 Strategic Planning Workbook
7.2 Facilitating the Staff Process
Case Study 7.1: Henry Ford Estate - Fair Lane: A 21st Century Blueprint for an Iconic Historic Home
Chapter 8
Implementing the Plan
8.1 Detailing the Plan
8.2 The Financials in the Plan
8.3 The Budget and the Plan
8.4 Alignment with the Organization's Long-Range Plans
8.5 Alignment with Human Resources Strategy
8.6 Alignment of Staff and Board
8.7 The Public Dimension: Communicating the Plan
Case Study 8.1: A Great Garden of the World -- Our Planning Story
Chapter 9
Evaluating the Strategic Plan
9.1 The Board's Role in Evaluation
9.2 Involving All Board Committees
9.3 Staff Roles in Evaluating the Plan
9.4 The Bigger Question: Are These the Right Goals? Or, Is It Time for a New Plan?
Case Study 9.1: Measuring What Matters in Strategic Planning
Case Study 9.2: Using Metrics to Further Alignment at Hillwood
Chapter 10
Conclusion: What Can Go Wrong and How to Fix It