The Climate Change Action Plan for the Florida Reef System 2010-2015 offers a holistic approach for managing the coral reefs in the wake of global climate change. The Action Plan began with the collaboration of scientists, reef managers, academics, stakeholders, and interested members of the public, all seeing the need to ensure resilience of Florida’s reefs. Many lessons learned during the development of the Action Plan include: 1) climate change must be acknowledged and actions must be supported by decision makers, 2) environmental and socioeconomical consequences need to be considered, 3) it is essential to include transparent and open communication involving a variety of stakeholders, 4) collaboration between multiple agencies and organizations is critical to the success of the plan but extremely difficult, and 5) timing is critical.