GTD for <fill in the blank>

  • Thread starter Thread starter Cuffy_Meigs
  • Start date Start date
C

Cuffy_Meigs

Guest
I'm sure the smart folk at David Allen Co. have this on their 5-year plan, but they could make beaucoup bucks by segmenting their GTD market.

I'm in sales and am still incorporating GTD into my daily workflow. But I can tell you, the basic GTD principles (NA's, empty inboxes, etc.) have already made a dramatic impact on my...drumroll...sales productivity. Leads are no longer scribbled on backs of business cards and post-its, only to be lost at the dry-cleaners. All phone messages are followed-up on (2 prepositions at the end of a sentence, YES!). My pipeline is always full and constantly monitored (weekly review).

Anyway, a la the "Dummies" series, DA could really take GTD to the next level with a whole new series of books:

GTD For Sales
GTD For Management Consulting
GTD For Programmers
GTD For Teachers
GTD For Health Care
GTD For Politicians (kidding...or am I?)

Each market has different T's to GD & DA could sell a book to each. I'd buy the Sales one in a heartbeat.
 
Cuffy_Meigs said:
I'm sure the smart folk at David Allen Co. have this on their 5-year plan, but they could make beaucoup bucks by segmenting their GTD market.

I'm in sales and am still incorporating GTD into my daily workflow. But I can tell you, the basic GTD principles (NA's, empty inboxes, etc.) have already made a dramatic impact on my...drumroll...sales productivity. Leads are no longer scribbled on backs of business cards and post-its, only to be lost at the dry-cleaners. All phone messages are followed-up on (2 prepositions at the end of a sentence, YES!). My pipeline is always full and constantly monitored (weekly review).

Anyway, a la the "Dummies" series, DA could really take GTD to the next level with a whole new series of books:

GTD For Sales
GTD For Management Consulting
GTD For Programmers
GTD For Teachers
GTD For Health Care
GTD For Politicians (kidding...or am I?)

Each market has different T's to GD & DA could sell a book to each. I'd buy the Sales one in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...

Cuffy,

I always thought that the big book sales could come not necessarily by segmenting, though that is a great idea, but by just creating a GTD for Dummies. Someone's going to dumb down GTD either by calling it GTD or calling it something else.

The GTD book in its current form attracts a certain kind of person. But there are many who read it and move on with their life. It's too hard to work through.

Big pages, big print, pictures. Someone will do it.

I don't know much about the economics of publishing. But the sense that I have is that people do not generally write books to sell books. Rather the books are just one component of a broader marketing campaing. Perhaps Davidco sees the GTD book as a tool to sell its seminars and coaching. Then selling books is not an end. Getting people to attend seminars and purchase coaching sessions is the end and books are the means. So, if consumers realize that GTD is powerful but complex they will hire an expert to help them with it.
 
moises said:
Cuffy,

I always thought that the big book sales could come not necessarily by segmenting, though that is a great idea, but by just creating a GTD for Dummies. Someone's going to dumb down GTD either by calling it GTD or calling it something else.

The GTD book in its current form attracts a certain kind of person. But there are many who read it and move on with their life. It's too hard to work through.

Big pages, big print, pictures. Someone will do it.

I don't know much about the economics of publishing. But the sense that I have is that people do not generally write books to sell books. Rather the books are just one component of a broader marketing campaing. Perhaps Davidco sees the GTD book as a tool to sell its seminars and coaching. Then selling books is not an end. Getting people to attend seminars and purchase coaching sessions is the end and books are the means. So, if consumers realize that GTD is powerful but complex they will hire an expert to help them with it.
Click to expand...

I definitely think that a "Quick Start" guide is in order. I know many people in my org who would be receptive to GTD if they didn't have to read the whole book to get started and start feeling the benefits.

I've lent the book to my boss, who complains daily about how is home and work life are out of control, but doesn't have the time to sit down and read.
 
How do you simplify the simple?

I personally found the simplicity of the book/system the real attraction. Unlike many other productivity and improvement books, I found GTD very easy and enjoyable to read.

I can also, very easily see how it could apply to any number of fields. No "Dummies" series needed.

Just curious about the "advanced" workflow diagram. Does anyone actually use that? I cannot see how that is an improvement from DA's workflow diagram.
 
bassdrone42 said:
I personally found the simplicity of the book/system the real attraction. Unlike many other productivity and improvement books, I found GTD very easy and enjoyable to read.

I can also, very easily see how it could apply to any number of fields. No "Dummies" series needed.

Just curious about the "advanced" workflow diagram. Does anyone actually use that? I cannot see how that is an improvement from DA's workflow diagram.
Click to expand...

I agree... It's been my experience, though, that the people who need this the most don't have the time to sit down and read the book. I think that if they could taste the benefits on the front-end, they might be more inclined to make the time. However, it's the "tasting the benefits" part that I think needs to come first.

For someone like myself, who's been doing this for quite some time, the "advanced" diagram is overkill. Although, as I look at it, I think that it has some nice reminders in there of how to look at your work rather than what to do with it. Although, at this point for me much of this is habit. I've read the book 2 or 3 times, listened to the audio, and the GTD Fast audio a couple of times as well - but I'm looking to wring this system out for all that it's worth.

However, for those who need it, I think that the advanced diagram is a great way to get them to see the benefits before they invest the time reading the book.
 
I'm in sales, and while I easily adapted GTD to work for my personal life, it took me a while to figure out how to make it work for my business. Once I figured out that I needed to treat each customer as a "project" that always needed a next action, I was able to apply GTD with ease.

I also think that goals are far more important to sales people than people in corporate America. When I worked in corporate America, goals were not a part of the picture because I had an "inbox" of things I needed to do. In sales, I don't have an "inbox" per se - I must create my own work by taking the initiative and contacting prospects and then follow through. I still don't have a physical inbox unless you count always keeping my desk cleared off. At least 90% of the things on my next action lists come from my head and interaction with customers.

Perhaps they could have a section on their site where they apply GTD to various careers. The principles are the same, but the realities of corporate America aren't realities for everyone else. I know you could go crazy with different ways to implement GTD for different situations, but I do think there are some broad categories (sales, for one) that could be addressed very effectively. I would be more than happy to contribute my ideas if they asked for them.

On a side note, my productivity and income have changed dramatically since applying GTD to my career. I am no longer plagued by guilt and I am not stressed out by success. I know that sounds dumb, but it's true. I am more successful and less stressed that I was before GTD. I almost feel like I'm doing far less work and getting much bigger results. It's weird but I am sure I will get used to it. :)
 
pageta said:
Once I figured out that I needed to treat each customer as a "project" that always needed a next action, I was able to apply GTD with ease.
Click to expand...

Thank you, Pageta. You have supplied a great big missing piece for me (though what took me so long, I have no idea). As a self-employed person with several clients, I can take this bit of wisdom and run with it. In my line of work it is eminently usable.
 
Day Owl said:
Thank you, Pageta. You have supplied a great big missing piece for me (though what took me so long, I have no idea). As a self-employed person with several clients, I can take this bit of wisdom and run with it. In my line of work it is eminently usable.
Click to expand...

Yes, that was definitely my lightbulb moment. At first I tried to treat appointments as projects, but you have to call people to schedule appointments and I didn't know how to make that work. Once I decided to treat each customer as a project, I only had to ask myself - What is the next step with this client? - and then things moved forward. I had a specific action to take, a specific reason to call the client, and then bookings and sales just started rolling in.
 
Right on, pageta

I had the same "prospect/client=project" epiphany and then everything started clicking GTD-wise. That's why I think GTD-for-XXX would work. Functional areas of business, like sales, have the same workflow regardless of industry.

While generally internalizing GTD is fun & effective, some time could have been saved had there been a more specific roadmap for my functional career.

Organizationally, just think if sales and other areas like production spoke the same GTD language at a high level (everyone used NA's), but had their own GTD method when it came to executing at their respective functional level. Talk about synergy.

All GTDers get there eventually. DA could streamline it for many people.
 
Setting up a GTD sales system

Cuffy_Meigs said:
I'm in sales and am still incorporating GTD into my daily workflow. But I can tell you, the basic GTD principles (NA's, empty inboxes, etc.) have already made a dramatic impact on my...drumroll...sales productivity. Leads are no longer scribbled on backs of business cards and post-its, only to be lost at the dry-cleaners. All phone messages are followed-up on (2 prepositions at the end of a sentence, YES!). My pipeline is always full and constantly monitored (weekly review).
Click to expand...

Does anyone have any other tips / ideas / conections they have made while setting up GTD as their sales productivity system?

Cheers

TR
 
I remember posting something once about GTD for Starbucks Barristas. That may be too segmented.

I do see how sales is different from other knowledge workers though...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top