In 1996, ISM identified 10 “ISM Stability Markers®” for use in strategic and long range planning. The Stability Markers, organized into a prioritized list, were derived from variables associated with a private-independent school’s capacity to sustain excellence. The top-ranked Stability Marker was, and remains, the Board’s self-definition. Boards viewing their mission as essentially “strategic” comprise the best indicator/predictor of institutional stability. These Boards focus on long-term financial viability, and are organized annually into “task units” (i.e., Board committees) formed to advance the school’s planning document. Boards viewing themselves as “current events/operations oversight” entities (the antithesis of the “strategic” Board) were associated with inability to sustain excellence.