This manual on strategic planning is being written for cooperatives that wish to follow a systematic, step-by-step approach to getting where it wants to go and how it wants to get there. There are, of course, various strategic approaches to reach a goal or destination. Some cooperatives take opportunities as they come, assess the risks attendant to these opportunities and make decisions according to certain criteria set or values preferred. This is an incremental or adaptive strategy approach. Other cooperatives take a more ideological strategy approach, like some religious and political organizations. They create a common set of beliefs and glorified visions for the cooperative and prescribe ways of realizing that vision in a very dogmatic or doctrinal manner. Still, others pursue their vision through the creative strategy approach using innovative, lateral or intuitive thinking. This manual is not about these other strategic processes. This manual takes on a sequential, logical and rational strategy approach using the traditional faculties ascribed to the left brain.