In September 2011, I found myself unexpectedly wandering the streets of Istanbul. I say “unexpectedly” because there was revolution in Syria, a growing social uprising that would eventually ignite an all-consuming civil war. Security concerns had made going back to the city of Aleppo, which is where I had expected to be, impossible. Click to … Continue reading A song of melancholy and last-chance hope: Why I wrote “The Last Dice”
Personal
Chronicle of a CEO Burnout
Update 4 August 2025: There is now a complementary blog post to this one, called "How I Recovered from Burnout." Please read the two articles together. This is a cautionary tale. I tell it so that others might successfully avoid the kind of health-related collapse that I experienced after a long period of unrelenting stress … Continue reading Chronicle of a CEO Burnout
Third-Age Thoughts
Initial reflections after a long professional career in public service for sustainability On January 1, 2025, I woke up to the reality that I was actually and truly retired. I have no professional position, no company or business to maintain, no formal work responsibilities, at all. I am living on my income from a modest … Continue reading Third-Age Thoughts
Launching “Swedified” – a new blog
For years, I have wanted to write about what it is like to come to this small, unusual country — Sweden — and then become part of it. There is a Swedish word used to describe foreign people (or things) that have been absorbed by the unique culture of Sweden, but have been given a … Continue reading Launching “Swedified” – a new blog
A Brief History of Self-Sharing
On a recent ski-vacation, we bumped into one of my wife’s old school-friends. My wife was a little surprised, but not her friend. “Oh, I knew you were here,” she said. “I saw Alan’s posting on Instagram.” Unwittingly, by sharing a photo on social media — just a nature scene, shot from a moving train … Continue reading A Brief History of Self-Sharing
My 2014, by the numbers
For me, 2014 was a particularly busy, productive, and satisfying year of work for sustainability. The account below covers the year from my personal perspective, but on most of these assignments I was joined by wonderful group of colleagues, partners, and associates. More about them at the end of this post. First, here's the report: … Continue reading My 2014, by the numbers
How we made American Troubadour
“There’s a story behind every song” (see AmericanTroubadour.com) ... but there’s also a story behind the album. And it’s a good story. In June of 2001, in Stockholm, on Midsummer Day, I got married. Nine months later, Kristina gave birth to our first child. To say that everything changed in my life, in and around … Continue reading How we made American Troubadour
Summer: A Time for Measuring, Analyzing, Discussing — and even Experiencing! — Happiness
The following was originally composed as a set of notes for use by Junko Edahiro, who writes a monthly newsletter on happiness and wellbeing issues in Japan. See the website of her Institute, ISHES, for more info. My own summer vacation, spent mostly in Sweden and the United States, has been a happy one ... … Continue reading Summer: A Time for Measuring, Analyzing, Discussing — and even Experiencing! — Happiness
A Year of Work in Sustainability
As 2012 comes to a close, I plan to reflect back on the year in sustainability and write think-piece about it. There is a lot to reflect on at the global scale: there was Rio+20 and the Doha climate conference, there was the impact of a US election and a lot of new sustainability science … Continue reading A Year of Work in Sustainability
Pyramid 2012: The Story of Building a Shared Dream
This is the personal “back story” on the origins of the Pyramid 2012 campaign, which published its final report on 18 June 2012. For the official story of this two-month-long “global workshop,” in which well over a thousand people participated, spread across twenty countries, please visit the campaign website to read the press release, 14-page … Continue reading Pyramid 2012: The Story of Building a Shared Dream
Alan AtKisson 