Ep. 366: 2019 GTD Summit Opening

Summary

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Episode Overview

Podcast: Getting Things Done
Episode: Ep. 366: 2019 GTD Summit Opening
Date: June 10, 2026
Host: GTD® (David Allen, with guest host/interviewer)

This episode captures the energetic and heartfelt opening moments of the 2019 GTD Summit, hosted by renowned productivity expert David Allen. The gathering brings together a global community of GTD (Getting Things Done) practitioners to celebrate the method's growth, share stories, and ignite inspiration for the days ahead. The opening conversation weaves together personal anecdotes, visions for the summit, and powerful invitations to connect, learn, and grow.

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Main Theme

Celebrating the Global GTD Movement and Community

This episode sets the stage for the summit by reflecting on the unexpected yet profound spread of the GTD methodology worldwide. David Allen discusses the community's origins, the global impact of his book, and invites all attendees to engage, connect, and contribute to a larger, evolving story of personal and professional productivity.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Origins of the GTD Movement

• David Allen recounts the humble beginnings of GTD and its evolution into a global phenomenon.
  • After publishing Getting Things Done (2001), demand quickly grew for resources and training from around the world.
  • The organization considered whether and how to scale globally, given a small staff and a lack of desire for large-scale management.
  • The decision was made to scale through partnerships and by leveraging technology, paving the way for GTD's worldwide reach.

Quote:

"We said, well, the only way to scale it, since I'm not particularly a good manager… Partnerships and technology. Many of you in the room are here because you read the book or ran across this stuff or you ran across people who are now distributing this around the world."
– David Allen [02:41]

2. Unintended Branding and Influence

• GTD became a recognized brand almost accidentally—it started as a shorthand for the book and grew without deliberate marketing.
• The method's resonance with people led to widespread adoption in over 60 countries and translation into 30 languages.

Quote:

"GTD was this brand that ran out from under us. …And suddenly this thing is spreading around the world. We said, oh, my gosh."
– David Allen [03:07]

3. The Power of Stepping Outside Comfort Zones

• David Allen reminisces about advice from a mentor: life’s most extraordinary opportunities arise from meeting new people.
• At the summit, attendees are encouraged to introduce themselves to others they haven’t met, fostering the same openness that fueled GTD's growth.

Quote:

"All the wicked coolest things that will happen to you in your life, you can pretty much attribute directly or almost directly to your willingness to step out of your comfort zone and meet somebody you never met before. And I've never been able to disprove that."
– David Allen [04:48]

4. Cultivating Community and Camaraderie

• The summit is likened to a “campfire,” where stories are shared, new connections are made, and everyone is invited to take what resonates with them.
• Attendees are given explicit permission to approach and connect with strangers, elevating their relationships and creating a welcoming, collaborative environment.

Quote:

"Please meet some strangers. There's not too many strange in here… it's pretty evident that because you're all attracted to this place because of GTD, that it kind of moves all your relationships up the food chain a little bit."
– David Allen [05:30]

5. Engagement, Reflection, and Rest

• David Allen points to the importance of not just engaging, but also stepping back to reflect and “rest your brains.” He ties this to cognitive science, noting that rest is vital for optimal performance—a key theme in the balanced productivity that GTD promotes.

Quote:

"I thought I was just lazy over all these years, but now I've discovered, given the cognitive science, that I'm really smart, and I take time to sleep to archive stuff in my brain, so I'm optimally, cognitively there."
– David Allen [06:03]

6. Honoring Leaders and the Broader Vision

• The energy shifts from opening remarks to the introduction of keynote speakers, beginning with legendary leadership coach Marshall Goldsmith.
• David Allen shares his personal connection and history with Marshall, reinforcing the summit’s theme of lifelong growth and meaningful relationships.

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• "The introduction of GTD into my life has been transformative, as I'm sure it is to everybody here."
  – Host/Interviewer [00:56]

• "It really is. You know, I kind of was the… kind of raised the flag, and I understand it was easier to sell a personality than a process."
  – David Allen [03:27]

• "This is a campfire, so you're attracted to come to the campfire, but there are going to be people telling tales and spinning stories in here of all different sorts. So this is a smorgasbord. Pick what rings your bell out of all of this. And I think we will all see that there's a larger story that will emerge from the... the whole is greater than the sum of the parts here."
  – David Allen [05:57]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:36-01:46 – Personal introductions, the story of the interviewer’s first meeting with David Allen, and how GTD became a personal transformation.
• 02:01-03:27 – David Allen discusses scaling GTD, the global reach, and unintentional branding phenomena.
• 04:48-05:30 – Advice to step out of comfort zones, initiation of connections among attendees.
• 05:57-06:40 – The campfire analogy, inviting open engagement, reflection, and the transition to keynote speakers.
• 06:41-end – Introduction of Marshall Goldsmith and the promise of diverse, transformative stories ahead.

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Engagement and Tone

The episode is warm, humorous, and inspiring—balancing the pride of past achievements with genuine humility and a forward-thinking, inclusive spirit. David Allen’s tone is invitational, supportive, and playful, encouraging everyone present (and listening) to take initiative in their own learning and connection.

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Conclusion

The opening of the 2019 GTD Summit, as captured in this episode, is both a celebration and a rallying call. David Allen’s reflections on the GTD movement’s origins and growth set an energized, collaborative tone for the days ahead, laying a foundation for deep engagement, camaraderie, and inspiration. Attendees are encouraged to step into discomfort, form new relationships, reflect, and embrace the ever-evolving GTD journey.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. Ladies and gentlemen, David Allen. David, what's up? How's it going?

[B]

I met this guy when he was writing an article for the Guardian in London. Right. And you had a bowler hat on.

[A]

I did.

[B]

And you were also a war correspondent then, too?

[A]

Yes. Hence the hat in 2004?

[B]

Something like that, yeah.

[A]

Yes. So I first interviewed David when we were both younger and. And I had a better hat at the time. I think the opening line of the article that I wrote said something like, I met my savior in a hotel bar in London. And since then, I don't think I've ever gone back on that. The introduction of GTD into my life has been transformative, as I'm sure it is to everybody here. And so. And especially for those of us who were first introduced to the thing by the audiobook, having the voice from the audiobook on stage next to me is freaking me out somewhat. Please, please don't hurt me.

[B]

I love you.

[A]

I love you too, David. Anyway, why have you brought us here today? Is it to start the revolution? What is your vision for the summit these next few days

[B]

in 2001, 2002, after getting things when it was first published, Kathryn and I had the question about, what should we do with this? Because as we begin to be translated into different languages and people were knocking on our door from around the world saying, wow, can I be a GTD consultant or trainer? It was just much too bigger gum than we knew how to chew. Build an international organization, and we're not that entrepreneurial anyway. So we had to make the decision. We had a small staff at the time. We said, well, do you guys want to do this? Shall we try and see if we can scale this in some way? They said, yeah, yeah, come on, let's do that. Not just me, my own speaking circuit thing. So we said, well, the only way to scale it, since I'm not particularly a good manager, don't particularly interested in doing that kind of stuff. Partnerships and technology. Many of you in the room are here because a you read the book or ran across this stuff or you ran across people who are now distributing this around the world. So it's become a global phenomenon. You know, 10 years ago, we did this in San Francisco just because the coolest people were starting to be attracted to this work. We said, let's raise the flag. GTD was this brand that ran out from under us. It was just our shorthand for the book. We didn't plan on. We never did any marketing, whatever. And suddenly this thing is spreading around the World. We said, oh, my gosh. And I really wasn't sure that we get this methodology in some sort of virtual form. I knew if I hung out with people long enough, I could get them turned onto this and they could implement it, but I didn't know. So when the book was first published, that was a big milestone. In 2001, the first weekend it was on the shelves of the bookstores, I got an email from a lady in Philadelphia, I think, and she said, david, I just read your book. I implemented it. It changed my life. I went, yes, we can scale this. So that was actually fairly recently we made that decision, and then we started to do it, and just one foot in front of the other. And now here we are in 60 plus countries and the book's 2 million copies and 30 languages, and it is a global movement. And it's bigger than me. It really is. You know, I kind of was the. Kind of raised the flag, and I understand it was easier to sell a personality than a process. Folks, come on. How many of you got. Hi, everybody. Be totally accountable for your life and keep everything out of your head. Track all of your commitments. Make sure that you're really clear about exactly what you're going to do about all those things. Come on in. Not really. So I have a lot of words to say to all of you. So these two days, I'll be hanging out in between the lines here as well. So please take advantage of that as well.

[A]

Well, I'm going to leave you now. I'm going to be back on stage in a moment, but David is going to bring on the first speaker, and he gets to be alone on stage to do that. Ladies and gentlemen, Dave Dahn.

[B]

Thank you. David, A mentor of mine many, many, many, many years ago, gave me one of the best pieces of advice I've ever been given by anybody. He said, david, all the wicked coolest things that will happen to you in your life, you can pretty much attribute directly or almost directly to your willingness to step out of your comfort zone and meet somebody you never met before. And I've never been able to disprove that. So just to warm it up a little bit more in here, I know it's already starting to be that way, too. Would you all please step slightly out of your comfort zone and meet somebody you can reach with a long handshake right now that you haven't met yet. Hi, evan. Okay, that's it. Thank you. Come on back. So you have our permission. You have our permission to continue that process on breaks and at lunch, etc. I know you need permission from the authorities to meet strangers, so you now have it. Please meet some strangers. There's not too many strange in here. And last night, with some of the parties and social things that were going on, it was pretty evident that because you're all attracted to this place because of gtd, that it kind of moves all your relationships up the food chain a little bit. And I think you'll find that true with everybody here. There could be many of you could be on stage, I know, in terms of the quality of folks and what you do in the world out there and the people you affect. So thank you. Thank you for that. And to that point, these speakers, I've given them a challenge because they're shrinking down to very, very few minutes apiece. So I wrote this in my sort of introductory letter that you may have seen, but I love the image of a campfire. This is a campfire, so you're attracted to come to the campfire, but there are going to be people telling tales and spinning stories in here of all different sorts. So this is a smorgasbord. Pick what rings your bell out of all of this. And I think we will all see that there's a larger story that will emerge from the. You know, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts here. So invite you to play, invite you to stay open, invite you to engage with each other. And if you just want to use this time to step back and reflect, I mean, come on, how many of you in here could use more time to just step back and step up and reflect and rest your brains? Come on, you know, we know now how important that is. I thought I was just lazy over all these years, but now I've discovered, given the cognitive science, that I'm really smart, and I take time to sleep to archive stuff in my brain, so I'm optimally, cognitively there. And speaking of cognitively there, about 30 years ago, geez. In the 1980s, I was brought in to coach a guy who has now become probably the world's greatest leadership coach and expert in the world. And my friend, Marshall Goldsmith, you know, we've hung out together. We had a dinner, I think, in Salt Lake not too long ago, where we were sharing stories of the 60s and 70s, and we were both kind of mad men back then and wild, whatever. So I'm not gonna take any more of his time. Let me introduce a great friend and a super, super resource, Marshall Goldsmith.