I owe a lot to David Allen.
Indeed, the best-selling author and worldwide guru of Getting Things Done agreed to provide the afterword to my Pow! book, but the reason that I approached him in the first place is that I've been a long-time disciple and believer in his productivity/efficiency strategies and tactics.
In fact, when people ask me (and often they do!) "Where do you find the time to do everything you do?" I point them to two primary factors: David's books and amphetamines.
Okay, I'm kidding about the amphetamines. But I'm dead serious about David's books, namely Ready For Anything, the bible-like Getting Things Done and his newest (which I just started plowing through over the weekend) Making It All Work (find 'em at your fave bookseller or here). They've sold millions, been translated into multiple languages, and have spawned an army of followers whose professional and personal lives have been improved dramatically, ranging from the common working man to the executive suite to some of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
Which is why I'm equally juiced about David's next venture, the GTD Summit he and his group are putting on in San Francisco on March 11-13. I love the way David, always the realist and facing problems head-on (such is a root of the GTD philosophy), puts the conference into perspective given the economic mess we're going through:
"What worse time could there be to ask people and organizations to invest discretionary time and financial resources for process improvement, innovation, lifestyle, organization and leadership development?
"And on the other hand what better time would there be to enhance and apply the best practices for staying focused and in control?"
You've heard the clichés before: it's not an expense, it's an investment, etc. etc. etc. But as anyone who has seen David speak will tell you, the learning is concrete, applicable, and unique. Add people like the iconic Guy Kawasaki, who's heading up a line-up of uber-intelligent presenters, not to mention the equally-intelligent attendees, and you'll understand why this conference will truly help you...well, get things done.
If you're the least bit into it, get more details here.