So much sustainability work is just this:  turning ideas into reality.

Also two years ago, I and my team began imagining a more comprehensive approach to our training offerings.  We gathered all our workshop offerings under one roof, and called the result the “ISIS Academy.”

Now, that’s a reality too.

As our flagship for this new ISIS Academy, we created the Master Class in Change for Sustainability — six days of intensive, reflective, inspiring, hands-on learning, in a stunning location outside of Stockholm. Despite the economic downturn, last year’s pilot was a lovely success, drawing students from as far away as Australia, California, and Indonesia. Nearly a year later, they are still writing to us to say how much the course advanced their careers and supported their professional and personal development.

So now, I would like to invite you to join us for the 2010 Master Class, 16-22 May.  We have a truly wonderful faculty, a fantastic location … and judging from the pre-launch registrations, this is going to be a very motivated and international group.

Please click here to learn more about the Master Class.

And I’m happy to say the ISIS Academy is spreading its wings more and more.  In the last two years, we have offered trainings at many locations in the US, Europe, and Asia, as well as on-line (with our partners the International Society for Sustainability Professionals - click here for information on our next on-line course with ISSP).  Just this year we offered the first ISIS Academy programs in Poland and Iceland, and this year we will offer the first-ever ISIS training in France (for French-speakers - Écrivez à Cassandra@AtKisson.com pour recevoir plus d’informations en français.)

And if you are an educator, don’t miss our next Compass Schools workshop in Thailand, 15-16 May 2010.  The Compass Schools program is growing, as educators and their institutions adopt the ISIS Method and the “Nature/Economy/Society/Wellbeing” framework for both classroom learning and school management.

Click here for information on the next Compass Schools workshop.

Soon, we will launch our new “ISIS-Net” learning community platform for our workshop graduates.  We decided that this growing global network of ISIS Method and ISIS Accelerator users needed a home as well.  Watch future issues of WaveFront for details.

Turning sustainability dreams into sustainable realities.  That’s what this work is all about.  We hope you will join an ISIS Academy training, and we look forward to keeping in touch.

Warmly,
Alan AtKisson
President & CEO, The AtKisson Group

*

Now Accepting Applications for the ISIS Master Class in Change for Sustainability, 16-22 May in Stockholm, Sweden

A COURSE TO ACCELERATE ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION …

You are already committed to making change. You have knowledge and experience. But now you’re looking to learn the tools, techniques, and processes that will help your clients or your company to address risks and opportunities linked to sustainability to accelerate transformation.
The ISIS Academy Master Class, six days of intensive hands-on learning, brings years of sustainability learning and experience into laser-like focus.

Alan AtKisson and our international faculty of experts will guide you through theory, reflection, and practice, working in teams and individually.

You’ll go home refreshed, inspired … and equipped with the tools and insights to make change happen.

Learning objectives:

• Fluency in global sustainability issues … so you can help people grapple with the great challenges of our time
• Mastering the ISIS Method … working with Indicators, analyzing Systems, developing Innovations, and planning Strategy for sustainability …. and how to lead others through the process.
• Learning the best tools … how to apply ISIS through the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator tools, as well integrating ISIS with other popular tools, to greatly expand your capacity to respond to almost any sustainability challenge
• Developing practitioner excellence … using group facilitation, personal coaching, communication, training techniques, and technical analysis skills to help you be at your personal best in a demanding profession
• Understanding yourself … defining your strengths and planning for your own long-term development as an effective change agent for sustainability

To read the program details and to register, click here.

*

Becoming a Compass School:  2nd Workshop in Thailand, 15-16 May 2010

Our first workshop to support in-school facilitators to become effective change agents, using the Compass framework and the ISIS Accelerator tools, was so successful that we quickly scheduled a second one.

Especially if you are working on education and school sustainability in Asia, please come to our Compass Schools workshop, in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Taught by a team of very experienced education professionals, this workshop is a dynamic, inspiring, and empowering introduction to a new way of working on sustainability in your school.

Click here to read more about the Compass Schools workshop …

*

Noted While Riding the Wave

Things we’ve heard or read that seem to sum it all up …

“The shift to a low-carbon economy to mitigate global warming will require the creation of new technologies, industries and jobs on a massive scale. The absolute imperative to prevent climate change is therefore, also, I believe, the economic and investment opportunity of our lifetime.”

- Kevin Parker, Global Head of Asset Management, Deutsche Bank

Thank you for reading this issue of WaveFront.  Please write to us with ideas, suggestions, comments.

[Updated 30 May 2010]

Our 2010 Master Class was a great success, and graduates have returned to their homes, in eleven different countries, literally all over the globe. If you are interested in applying to our next Master Class, click “Contact” and send us an email.

To get a sense of what the Master Class consists of, you can read the following description of this year’s class, which ran from 16-22 May 2010, in Stockholm.

A COURSE TO ACCELERATE ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION …

You are already committed to making change. You have knowledge and experience. But now you’re looking to learn the tools, techniques, and processes that will help your clients or your company to address risks and opportunities linked to sustainability to accelerate transformation.

The ISIS Academy Master Class, six days of intensive hands-on learning, brings years of sustainability learning and experience into laser-like focus.

Alan AtKisson and our international faculty of experts will guide you through theory, reflection, and practice, working in teams and individually.

You’ll go home refreshed, inspired … and equipped with the tools and insights to make change happen.

Learning objectives:

• Fluency in global sustainability issues … so you can help people grapple with the great challenges of our time

• Mastering the ISIS Method … working with Indicators, analyzing Systems, developing Innovations, and planning Strategy for sustainability …. and how to lead others through the process.

• Learning the best tools … how to apply ISIS through the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator tools, as well integrating ISIS with other popular tools, to greatly expand your capacity to respond to almost any sustainability challenge

• Developing practitioner excellence … using group facilitation, personal coaching, communication, training techniques, and technical analysis skills to help you be at your personal best in a demanding profession

• Understanding yourself … defining your strengths and planning for your own long-term development as an effective change agent for sustainability

To read the program details and to register, click here.

[Updated 30 May 2010]

The recent Compass Schools workshop in Thailand was a well-attended success. Despite the political troubles in that country, participants came to Chiang Mai from several countries in Asia, representing international schools and one major university.

Plans are already under way to schedule the next Compass Schools workshop. For a sense of what the workshop covers, please review the following. Send an email via the “Contact” link if you would like more information.

A two-day workshop on how to chart your school’s course … to sustainability.

Prem Center, Chiang Mai, Thailand, Sat-Sun, 15-16 May 2010 (Opening dinner night of Friday, 14 May)

Registration now closed, the workshop is concluded - Please click here to download the original registration brochure

“Sustainability asks us to look at the world differently … and to look at the mission or purpose of education differently.”

For those teachers and administrators who are both passionate and serious about meeting the challenges of sustainability, the AtKisson Group’s new Compass Schools program provides you with the tools, methods and ‘Community of Practice’ Network to make real transformational change in how your school learns, how it operates, and how it interacts with its broader community.

Schools are in an ideal position to model sustainability practices that inform and influence the broader community. From developing new future visions and measureable indicators, to creating new education initiatives using a systems approach, to facilitate self-sustaining change, a school can be the catalyst for the social change that sustainable development calls for.

The AtKisson Group’s ‘Becoming a Compass School’ workshop brings years of sustainability learning and practice into sharp focus, over a fast-paced 2-day period. During these two days, you will learn in depth and handson the Compass School Network concept and our ISIS Accelerator tools and methods for transforming education in all aspects and dimensions. You will also learn from your peers, since there is already a wealth of knowledge and sustainability education practice happening in many corners of international education.

Finally, you will have the opportunity to deepen your self-knowledge and motivation as an agent of change for what you care most about, equipping young people with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to contribute to a sustainable world.

The ‘Becoming a Compass School’ Workshop will help you move quickly from where you are now toward where you want to be.

Our trainers / facilitators will guide you through theory, reflection and practice. You will go home refreshed with new ideas, inspired, and equipped with tools and insights that will allow you to make change happen.

Download the brochure and register today …

This special one-hour webinar is jointly sponsored by the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) and the ISIS Academy (the AtKisson Group’s sustainability learning and training division).

Date: Thursday, February 4, 2010

Time: 3 PM EST (US East Coast), 9 PM CET (Europe)

Registration: $25, or free to members of the ISSP

Link to register:

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/545902810

Hope to see you there!

Cassandra

Cassandra Troy
Virtual Marketing Manager and Customer Service Avatar
The AtKisson Group

AtKisson ISIS Accelerator License Agreement (“Agreement”), between AtKisson, Inc., a Washington corporation (“AtKisson”), and the purchaser of the license to the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator (”Licensee”), dated as of the payment by the Licensee of an invoice issued by AtKisson, Inc., and referencing this Agreement,  for the purchase of a license for the individual use of AtKisson ISIS Accelerator.

RECITALS

A. AtKisson has developed a training, planning, and consulting support program for sustainable development issues, including training curricula, lesson plans, graphic and presentation materials, planning frameworks, planning instructions, handbooks, assessment frameworks, indicator frameworks, templates and documents for project management, and related materials, as described on the attached Exhibit A (together, the “AtKisson ISIS Accelerator” or “Accelerator”).

B. Licensee is an individual practitioner providing a variety of sustainability-related training, advisory, and consulting activities (the “Program”).

C. Licensee desires to use the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator in connection with its sustainable development programs, and AtKisson desires to license the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator to Licensee, on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.

AGREEMENTS

In consideration of the mutual promises and agreements set forth in this Agreement, the parties agree as follows:

1. License. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, AtKisson grants to a non-exclusive, non-transferable individual license (the “License”) solely to use the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator in its Programs. Licensee shall not, without the prior written consent of AtKisson, or as described elsewhere in this Agreement, assign, sublicense, convey, hypothecate or otherwise transfer the License or any of the rights granted to Licensee pursuant to this Agreement.

2. Term. The term of the License shall commence upon the date of purchase and continue indefinitely, unless the License is terminated as described in paragraph 3 below.

3. Use of AtKisson ISIS Accelerator. Licensee may use the Accelerator materials solely in its training, planning, and community development activities. AtKisson reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to nullify the status of this License if it believes the Licensee is using the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator improperly; if the Licensee is using the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator in ways not authorized by this Agreement; or if the Licensee fails to meet the terms of the Agreement. Licensee may not use the AtKisson name, trademark, and marketing materials in connection with activities authorized by this Agreement, except by separate written agreement with AtKisson. Licensee may not sublicense other entities to use the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator, except by separate written agreement with AtKisson.

4. Ownership. Except for the grant of the License, all rights to the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator (including the computer files and documents) and any improvements and derivative products shall belong to AtKisson or its suppliers and are protected by copyright laws and international agreements. Licensee shall disclose to AtKisson any improvements to or derivatives of the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator, whether patentable or non-patentable and whether copyrightable or non-copyrightable. AtKisson shall have the right to incorporate any such improvements or derivatives into the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator.

5. Copying. Licensee may print copies of course participant guides, facilitator guides, presentation materials, planning documents, and other documents solely for use within its Programs, as authorized by this Agreement. Licensee may not otherwise copy or distribute the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator.

6. Limited Warranties. AtKisson warrants that it has full power and authority to grant the rights granted by this Agreement to Licensee with respect to the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator without the consent of any other person; and that neither the performance of the services by AtKisson nor the license to, and use by, Licensee of the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator will in any way constitute an infringement or other violation of any United States copyright, trade secret, trademark, patent, invention, proprietary information, nondisclosure, or other rights of any third party. Except as specifically provided in this Agreement, AtKisson disclaims with respect to the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator all express and implied warranties, including any implied warranties of merchantability, title or fitness for a particular purpose.

7. Remedies. If a third-party claim causes Licensee’s use of the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator as provided in this Agreement to be seriously endangered or disrupted, AtKisson shall (i) replace the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator or the affected portion thereof, without additional charge, with a compatible, functionally equivalent, and non-infringing product; (ii) modify the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator to avoid the infringement; (iii) obtain a license for Licensee to continue to use the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator for the License Period, and pay for any additional fee required for such license; or (iv) if none of the foregoing alternatives are available after AtKisson has made its best efforts to achieve a reasonable resolution, return the license fee and cancel the License. In the event of any defect in the computer data files, AtKisson shall, at its expense, use its best efforts to promptly correct such defect or provide a compatible, functionally-equivalent product. If it is unable to correct such defect or to provide a compatible, functionally-equivalent product, AtKisson’s sole liability, and Licensee’s exclusive remedy, shall be return of the license fee and the cancellation of the License. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall AtKisson or its suppliers be liable for any indirect, incidental or consequential damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, or any other pecuniary loss), arising out of the use of or inability to use the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator.

8. Termination upon Default. If Licensee should fail to cure any default in the performance of any of its obligations under this Agreement within ten days after written notice of default to Licensee by AtKisson, then AtKisson, at its option, may by written notice to Licensee terminate the License effective upon delivery of such notice. Licensee will after termination cease to use the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator in the Program and shall destroy all copies of the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator and related materials. AtKisson’s right to terminate in such event shall be in addition to, and not in limitation of, any other remedies it may have for breach of this Agreement.

9. Notices. All notices, requests, demands and other communications which are required to be or may be given under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given when delivered in person or transmitted by facsimile or on receipt after dispatch by certified or registered first class mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, to the party to whom the same is so given or made.

10. No Liability to Clients. AtKisson shall have no liability to any student or client of Licensee for any claim, damages or loss arising out of or resulting from the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator or Licensee’s use thereof. Licensee shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless AtKisson from and against any such claim, damages or loss.

11. Entire Agreement; Amendment. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to its subject matter and replaces and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous written or oral agreements and understandings. This Agreement may not be amended, modified or terminated unless in a written instrument executed by the party or parties sought to be bound.

12. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Washington in the United States of America.

EXHIBIT A

Description of AtKisson ISIS Accelerator

1. For the purposes of this Agreement, the AtKisson ISIS Accelerator consists of the following tools and methods developed by AtKisson INC.:

· Compass of Sustainability indicator and indexing system (”Compass”)

· Building the Pyramid Training Program and Pyramid Planning Process (”Pyramid”)

· Compass Assessment for Companies Investors

· Innovation Diffusion Game, aka Amoeba Game, or “Amoeba”

· StrateSphere

· The ISIS Method Handbook

· Other presentation materials and templates provided by AtKisson

· Other components that are added to AtKisson ISIS Accelerator while this License remains in effect

From the Sustainable Silicon Valley Website …

To go directly to registration for this two-day workshop, go to:  http://changeagent.eventbrite.com/

Sustainable Silicon Valley, a consortium of companies and other organizations in the south San Francisco Bay area, is sponsoring this in-depth, hands-on training for sustainability change agents with Alan AtKisson, internationally renowned author, strategic consultant and change agent. This course will deepen your understanding of sustainability and provide you with the tools necessary to facilitate real change. In this workshop, you will learn a suite of tools aimed at breaking sustainability down into its essential elements in order to identify levers for effecting change, bringing to life the method described in his new book, The ISIS Agreement: How Sustainability Can Improve Organizational Performance and Transform the World.

The ISIS Method helps you navigate through any process and maximize the impact of your actions.These tools enable groups to explore challenging problems in a systematic way and to generate solutions that take into account complex systems dynamics.

Topics include:

•    Indicators and Assessment
•    Systems Thinking
•    Change Agent Skills
•    Sustainability Process Design
•    Communicating Sustainability
•    Planning and Evaluation

AtKisson’s ISIS Intensive Workshop deepens your understanding of sustainability and raises the bar on your ability to lead and facilitate change.

For two decades, Alan AtKisson and his colleagues have been helping people and organizations to achieve their sustainability objectives … and turn a passion for change into a capacity for making things happen. Join us!

Who Should Attend:

This training is appropriate for anyone who wants to accelerate the adoption of sustainability in their company, organization or community. Executives, managers, sustainability or environmental coordinators/managers, citizens, Green Team Leaders, individual contributors, consultants, educators, elected leaders, students, people in career transition. We encourage you to attend with colleagues, so that you can work together to implement what you learn when you return to your organization.
Continental breakfast will start at 8am. Lunch and snacks will also be served.

Local Hotel Info:

For those coming from out of town, we suggest 3 local hotels.

Residence Inn-Silicon Valley / 
(408) 720-1000
750 / Lakeway Dr, Sunnyvale, CA

The Plaza Suites / 
(408) 748-9800
3100 / Lakeside Dr, Santa Clara, CA

Embassy Suites Hotel - Santa Clara / (408) 496-6400
2885 / Lakeside Dr, Santa Clara, CA

To buy a ticket and register for this two-day workshop, go to:  http://changeagent.eventbrite.com/

For more detailed information about ticket prices, location and logistics, contact Marianna Grossman, Executive Director of Sustainable Silicon Valley, our partner in offering this workshop:
mgrossman (at) sustainablesiliconvalley.org

Now based in Europe, Mr. AtKisson was the co-founder of Sustainable Seattle and has been helping sustainability change agents improve their skills for nearly two decades. Mr. AtKisson consults with large companies, business associations, governmental initiatives, cities, foundations, global NGOs, and the United Nations, helping people to find new and accelerated strategic pathways forward. His previous works include the book  Believing Cassandra: An Optimist Looks at a Pessimist’s World.

In this issue:  Inspiring Stories of Change Agentry / Training Preference Survey / 10,000 Pyramids

I have just returned from attending the 28th Annual Meeting of something called “the Balaton Group,” after the great Hungarian lake by which we usually meet. Readers of The ISIS Agreement know about this Group; I describe its origins in the early 1980s Cold War, as a meeting point between East and West, for researchers working on sustainability and systems science.

Times have changed since then, and the Balaton Group has changed with them.  Today, our members come from all over the world.  Researchers have been joined by practitioners of all kinds. At this meeting, we had many scientists and researchers, but also government officials, management consultants, educators, and leaders of many stripes. Systems thinking and sustainability action still unites the group, strongly. But it is also united by the mutual inspiration we give each other.

For example, it is hard not to be deeply inspired by the work of Emelia Arthur, formerly a forest activist in Ghana, now the mayor of her resource-rich district. Emelia nearly lost her mayoral seat because she refused, very publicly, to pay the expected bribes. The resulting uproar, especially from the youth and the paramount tribal chief in her district, resulted in public apologies to the President of the country by the officials involved, and a jubilant reinstatement.

Less than three months into her position, Emelia is continuing to turn corruption on its head.  Offered a kickback for the purchase of road equipment, she took it … and then very publicly returned the money to the public coffers, noting that it would pay for providing water to villages needing it.  Now, the folks in a neighboring district are asking uncomfortable questions to their officials, who have also just purchased road equipment.  What bravery! What creativity!

At the other end of the planet, in Japan, Junko Edahiro was participating last year as the sole female, civil society member of an advisory council to the Prime Minister on climate change. Junko’s amazing life story is also known to readers of The ISIS Agreement (see the last chapter), but her story continues to inspire.  For example, when it was time to write the long-term vision statement for the nation’s climate policy, Junko and a colleague did something very clever: they volunteered to write the first draft.  Their recommended words survived all the way to the final version.  (”Volunteering” is one of the “Seven Secret Powers of the Change Agent,” also described in The ISIS Agreement.)

To inspire you, here is the translation of the final paragraph:

I could tell several more such stories … but then, so could you!  Through the great network we call the Global Sustainability Movement, there are thousands, millions of such stories.  One of my Balaton Group friends is working with a website designed collect such stories; when it’s ready, I’ll alert you. Till then, keep telling your own stories … and keep doing the things that will later become the inspirational stories that others tell …

Warmly,

Alan AtKisson
President & CEO, The AtKisson Group

Things we’ve heard or read that seem to sum it all up …

The facts and figures on these pages might tempt some readers to write off the patient, or despair about treatment, but that’s not the case. These pages highlight significant, even worrisome, symptoms. But we also see a planetary organism that is boundless in its beauty and still reasonably healthy. We share a destiny entwined with global human cultures that share responsibility to care for the Earth.

EarthPulse is also an excellent interactive website on global sustainability issues and trends.  See:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/earthpulse

Thank you for reading this issue of WaveFront.  Please write to us with ideas, suggestions, comments.

UPDATE:  The Planetary Boundaries paper, formally “A Safe Operation Space for Humanity,” was published in Nature in September 2009. Here is the direct link:  http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v461/n7263/full/461472a.html

There have been moments in the history of the sustainability movement when things crystallized, and a new concept came into common usage:  “Limits to Growth” was born in 1972, “Sustainable Development” in 1987, “Ecological Footprint” in 1992 … even “Climate Change” is such a concept (though it emerged in a slower, more gradual way during the ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s). These ideas are the intellectual touchstones of sustainability work.

Things we’ve heard or read that seem to sum it all up …

We come here because we too feel a responsibility for the human community. To preserve and develop a human quality of life is the common responsibility of us all. It is not fitting that those concerned with the various aspects of the human be alienated from each other. Both you and ourselves represent forces too profound and aim at objectives too significant for either of us to succeed completely without the assistance of the other. The urgency of our work impels us to get on with our common task lest a new period of disaster erupt over the Earth.

“I am not someone who uses the word ‘transformation’ lightly. But I have to say, this course was transformational for me.”
- Participant in the ISIS Academy Master Class 2009, August 2009

Thank you for reading this issue of WaveFront.  Please write to us with ideas, suggestions, comments.