Tuesday, August 15th, 2006...8:20 am
GTD Connect is here
Today, the David Allen Co. has announced a new membership program for GTD zealots. It is called GTD Connect. The details of the program are listed on their website.
It includes members-only library, website and forums, quarterly newsletter, 4 teleseminars with David Allen, 25% discount on live events, and special store pricing.
All for the low, low price of $48.00 USD per month. Yep, for a mere $576/year, you can have the joy of all of the above stuff.
Now, me, I am not going to ‘connected’. I can be a LOT more productive with my blog here, 43Folders forums and other resources around the internet, and spend that $500+ dollars on something else.
I am thinking that David Allen Company is almost putting GTD out of reach for the normal, everyday folks like us. It seems that there pricing structure starts at about $500. Luckily, there is enough grass roots members of GTD that there is no shortage of information and help available…all for FREE!
- Michael
17 Comments
August 15th, 2006 at 9:01 am
“I am thinking that David Allen Company is almost putting GTD out of reach for the normal, everyday folks like us.”
Now dial that back a bit. Are the books and audiobooks being pulled?
DavidCo may be putting out an expensive package out there, but its not preventing the rest of us from discussing and using the ideas behind GTD.
If there are companies willing to shell out for the seminars, there will be more interest in this, as it doesn’t involve travel expenses. This package costs about the same as one or two day course, yet gives much more over the course of a year.
It’s not for the average joes, but its not a barrier to them either. The seminars and executive coaching have always been the bread and butter of DavidCo. This is merely an extension of that.
August 15th, 2006 at 9:39 am
Couldn’t agree more with this post. When I read the page I thought that $48 per year was OK, and then I realised it was per month!
Given the huge amount of really excellent GTD content available across the web for free, I can’t see too many people paying for GTD connect…
August 15th, 2006 at 11:02 am
The market will decide if it is priced correctly. It is too much for me to pay for but I think Shawn L is correct; there will be plenty of companies willing to pay for this service.
August 15th, 2006 at 11:49 am
I agree with Shawn. It’s expensive for the Average Joe, but for the executives that it appeals to, it is probably fine. (I wouldn’t have heard of GTD if it weren’t for the now-president and CEO of the company I used to work for!)
August 15th, 2006 at 1:09 pm
I don’t think Mr. Allen is pricing himself out of the market. If you want the book, you can get it for $20 or so. If you want the Outlook Add-On, it’s $50 or so. If you want the GTD pencil holder, it’s…
This phenomenon reminds me of when the Atkins diet was all the rage. Striking while the iron is hot is not a bad thing. And, as you rightly point out, someone looking to learn how to “do” GTD doesn’t need to buy a think from Mr. Allen. There’s plenty of free info out there.
If anything, he should be complaining that there’s no way to make money on his idea, as everyone’s begun giving it away for free. Instead, he’s figured out a way to take advantage of the old razor promotion: give away the razors and wait for customers to come buy the blade refills.
August 16th, 2006 at 12:28 am
I had an opportunity to talk with David Allen about GTD Connect when I attended the Roadmap seminar in Santa Monica earlier this year. He told me that there is a lot of sustained demand for the kind of ongoing content and engagement the subscription provides. A number of people I know have pinged me in the last two days to let me know they have subscribed and are excited about the additional information and reinforcement they hope to receive.
I think DavidCo has been very supportive of the community that has grown up aroud GTD - their company-hosted forums have been a great ongoing discussion for many practitioners for years now. And as Tim R. points out, the cost of entry into GTD is well within reach of anyone who wants to read the book (there are copies in the library if you don’t want to shell out the modest cost for the paperback).
I differ with Tim’s analogy of razors and blades though. The razor ceases to be useful unless you continue to buy the blades. That is certainly not the case with GTD. Read the book, avail yourself of the resources and information the communtiy offers and, if that provides what you need, great. If you can afford to make further investments in software, gear, and even a GTD Connect subscription and decide there is sufficient value returned for the investment, go for it.
This is an addition to the options DavidCo offers. Nothing has been taken away. So I’m not really sure why you claim they are pricing GTD out of reach of anyone. If you don’t see enough value in the subscription, don’t make the investment.
August 16th, 2006 at 2:55 am
[...] David Allen starts GTD Connect and tells us all “give me 500 bucks and call me daddy!” [...]
August 16th, 2006 at 11:01 am
I think Virginia Postrel (at Dynamist.com) once observed this model of how people who peddle ideas make the big money. Have people who want more of you come to see you, and pay for the experience.
Conferences, speaking events, book signings, etc. you get the more scarce supply of personal attention of an individual.
Books are relatively cheap (especially if you use the library). Blogs are cheaper. But let’s face it, most books are not big money makers, and only a few blogs are “for profit” ventures. But they reach a larger audience.
From that audience comes the few who will be willing to pay more to get more. Personal attention is the commodity that is in short supply, and comes at a price.
David’s book, and his web presence are more to promote his coahing and consulting business. From the enthusiasm of the audience comes the few who are want to get more direct attention from. That’s where speaking engagements, personal coaching, and what not come in.
GTD connect is merly a way of getting people who can’t regularly attend seminars or who are willing to accept a middle ground between personal appearances and mass media.
He keeps enough of a public (read: free or cheap) presence to keep his name and ideas in circulation, helping generate the publicity to spur his paid work.
With all the productivity blogs out there talking about GTD. He needs less of a public presence. He doesn’t need to compete with that, he can focus more on the paid work, and expand that paid work.
“Give me $500 and call me daddy.” Please, enough with the pseudo-socialist crap. If you think it’s not worth it, fine, say so (and I’ll probably agree with you). But don’t try to play it as if it’s exploitation.
August 16th, 2006 at 4:15 pm
I like the GTD concept, but let’s get real here. All the “gear” on Allen’s site is way overpriced … $20 for file folders … $99 for a pocket notepad. You gotta be kinding! He realizes people will get enamored by this and loose their sensibility. I don’t blame him for makin’ a buck off this stuff - but let’s be reasonable. Now $500 bucks a year to re-hash the same ol’ stuff. He’s laughing’ all the way to the bank. I think GTD may really stand for “Get Their Dough”.
August 17th, 2006 at 10:48 am
WOW, thanks for all of the comments. I still think that GTD is a framework for increased productivity for the masses. I don’t think that there is a right way or a wrong way to get to stess-free living. I agree that there could be some cost-cutting measures that could be put in place. I REALLY don’t need an actual CD or paper newsletter. Changing those 2 alone should cut the cost in half, and thereby making it more accessible to more people.
It was a grass roots effort that got GTD to the platform it is at today. All of the bloggers/websites that sustain GTD. Now his latest offering is out of reach of those same people that popularized GTD in the first place.
August 18th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
I’m not one of those people who have been sufficiently enlightened in order to dish out $50 to try out this new service by David Allen. (I assume that one can pay one month’s subscription only).
The GTD concept has taken off and there is sufficient support in the community from people who are willing to provide assistance and advice for altruistic reasons. On the other hand, if David needs to increase, or at least sustain, his income and there are devotees willing to pay their contribution, so be it.
August 18th, 2006 at 1:46 pm
This is my first time visiting this blog. Good post, and very thoughtful comments as well! I just wanted to say that I avoided the $20 file folder trap by buying color folders at Staples for $3.99 (on sale!) and sticking some home-made labels on them. Just more evidence that GTD can be done on the cheap!
August 19th, 2006 at 8:47 am
When I took the “Managing Actions and Projects” back in 1998 (the precursor to GTD), David told us you could start the system for less than $15- $20 by hitting office supply stores. No need to buy a PDA or a slick paper based systemIn fact that is how I got started. My general take is that David has made all sorts of information available at all sorts of price points depending on what the buying public wants … if you look at it he has a wide range of products covering a whole range of prices. You can spend less than $10 at Half Price Books to get started all the way up to personal consulting sessions costing (at least back in 1998) in the $10,000 range for a couple of days. I believe this called business … and David is very good at satisfying needs at various price points.
As an aside, if the price isn’t high enough, people won’t use the service. If you have an investment it makes you want to get the most you can for your buck. It may be a sad commentary on human nature, but it does generally hold true.
August 21st, 2006 at 7:38 am
Let’s not get the amount of money out of context. Of course, $48 a month is a lot for an individual, but if you wanted to hire me professionally, you’d get about 40 minutes for that. The equation then becomes ‘does this programme get me more than 10 minutes extra productivity a week?’
And the sort of people who would end up on this sort of system will cost a lot more than me!
Steve
August 21st, 2006 at 9:31 am
[...] As I wrote in a comment to one of the posts questioning the value of the new service, if the value is not there, don’t subscribe. If you do not have the time or inclination to spend a lot of time aggregating RSS, navigating through forum discussions, and reading a lot of personal interpretations but do want a regular engagement with GTD, the Connect service might be a great way to make that happen. No, it’s not "cheap". But neither is the finite amount of time we all have to devote to personal improvement and professional development. And for the vast population that does not have a PC and net connection at the center of their day, a "push" device like the Connect service can be a regular reminder to keep practicing and developing the right "muscles" to achieve proficiency in the system. [...]
August 23rd, 2006 at 4:44 pm
Now, if he tried to patent GTD, and sue anyone who engaged in a GTD-like methodology for pesonal use, that would be obnoxious. If he tried to get his books pulled from all public libraries and all used book stores, so that people HAD to buy one new if they wanted wone, that would be obnoixous. But offering a service that none of us here think is worth the price? No harm, no foul. Let those who can afford and want to spend that kind of money spend it.
Is the hate for EVERYONE who offers high-cost services and consulting to executives, or only to those who do so after writing a book that manages to reach a less heeled audience? And why should someone who wrote a book that we found useful have FEWER options of how to make a living, simply because we liked his book?
He’s not doing anything exploitive or unusually obnoxious here– it’s not drinking water or healthcare he’s denying to people who can’t cough up the $$$$. It’s just that because we connect with the GTD, we’d like to be able to see him the way we like to see ourselves. We want him to be “one of usssssssss”, and he’s not living up to that expectation. Oh well, thems the breaks. If I write a book and it appeals to a wider audience than I expected, would I be under obligation to live by the values of the subculture I had unexpectedly reached?
August 26th, 2006 at 12:28 am
Michael Ramm wrote:
“It was a grass roots effort that got GTD to the platform it is at today. All of the bloggers/websites that sustain GTD.”
I think you and a lot of people here need to be careful about how much credit you claim for the success of GTD and the subsequent rights you feel you have to all material related to it. David spent his life building a company and business around his ideas, his name and his integrity. He was popular before the bloggers and websites came along and he did that by spending hundreds of days per year on the road working. I think 25+ years of work in this area earns him more credit than you give.
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