Here was Feldt's victory. Not only had the committee produced a document that faithfully synthesized the tenets of thousands of executives and volunteers across 127 autonomous affiliates, but it also engineered a process with a result that was arguably stronger and more forward-looking than expected. Wacker calls the Planned Parenthood experience a model for nonprofit organizations.

Feldt says that she still gets goose bumps when she reads the statement of promise. But a promise, of course, only goes so far. By March 2002, various committees are expected to deliver their implementation plans for each of the 10 goals. After that, Planned Parenthood has 24 years left to deliver the goods.

Visit Planned Parenthood on the Web (www.plannedparenthood.org/vision2025). Sound off with your smartest ideas for planning and change.

Sidebar: Woman With a Plan

How do you lead deep-seated change in a large organization where just about everyone expects to have a voice? Here are a few rules that Gloria Feldt used to pull it off at Planned Parenthood.

Create urgency. PPFA's affiliates had to understand that this was a crucial moment, "that we really could change the direction of the organization's future," says consultant Watts Wacker. The solution: an invitation-only summit with big-name speakers.

Include everyone. Feldt's committee pushed itself to get input from every corner of the organization. That meant hundreds of meetings with affiliates, whose input was distilled at regional sessions. Many affiliates also involved their clients and community groups.

Adapt the process to the culture. A by-the-book style never would have flown at PPFA. So the organization designed a standard innovation process, but it let local groups veer off course, as desired.

Make it transparent. At every turn, the PPFA committee published and shared the results of its work. The idea was that including people in the process would win support -- and would also sharpen the final product.

Lead, but don't control. Feldt, says Wacker, "saw that you can't 'increment' yourself into the future. She got her board to listen, then put people in place who responded." But she respected the culture of her organization; she recognized that change needed to be driven from deep in the ranks as well.