Converting Coworkers to GTD

Written by Brett Kelly

GTD, The Office

So you’ve read through GTD for the ump-teenth time and it looks like you used it to beat back a pack of wild boar. You’ve got your all of your inputs handled and your edges are so clean you could eat off of them. I hate to pee in anybody’s punch, but that was the easy part.

Your officemate and frequent collaborator, Bob, has an in-basket that looks like an open-faced filing cabinet. He might as well change the name of his Outlook inbox to “freaking everything”. In short, his personal productivity system makes your skin crawl. What recourse do you have? How can you show Bob the One True Way?

Well, the short answer is – you can’t. Think of it as a marriage. For years and years, you’ve been arranging your toiletries a certain way, then along comes your brand new spouse. You’re equally excited about joining your separate existences into a unified organism of love or something. But the jerk can’t seem to understand why the toothpaste cap needs to be replaced once the paste has been dispensed. And it makes you want to go over the table on him (and not in the newlywed sort of way).

You can browbeat your coworkers until you’re blue in the face about how if only they would read this delightful book, then all of their problems will be solved – but it really won’t solve anything. The key to winning the hearts and notebooks of your unenlightened coworkers is to lead by example. You have to be a freaking ninja at this stuff before you can go around proselytising. Because, if your credibility in such matters is even a little shaky, you’ll be dismissed quicker than the class clown in third period french.

If you consistenly out-perform those around you (and still leave the office on time), your superiors will start to notice. And once they do, they’ll start poking around, watching you work. Before you know it, they’ll be asking you to lead seminars and lunchtime meetings for your coworkers and colleagues because the brass want the rest of the rank and file to crank on their work the same way that you do.

So, unless Bob asks, save your GTD speech for the ears of those who really want to hear it. It’ll go eons farther, I promise you.

  • I have to say this is absolutely true. At work, people have noticed that I do things differently. I take notes as mindmaps in meetings. I don't respond to email immediately. I get projects done early. I use my IM status effectively. No one has asked me about what makes it go, but the productivity is certainly noticed. If I were going to be at the company beyond tomorrow (seriously) I anticipate people would start poking around at what I'm doing. :)
  • Great article.
    There's no point in trying to convert anyone intro your way of thinking. The only way is to make it appear like it's their idea. And this idea will "pop up" magically when they see the results that are possible.
  • Change your co-workers? Typically not possible (and i might even ask in many cases "why?").

    Your subordinates though, not only can you change the way they work, but you should insist on it. I've walked into several extremely poor IT departments with lackluster performance, horrible rep in the company, and very little self-generated workflow. Any work being completed was accomplished because of overbearing top-down micro-management. I did this myself in some cases to bad result (as I would expect now).

    After leading through example, and then insisting and evaluating performance on standards of responsiveness and follow-through similar to what I set for myself, three types of employees come out ... those that can't or refuse to change and leave or get left behind, those that want to change but don't even know they have a problem, and those that see what you're doing and want you to mentor them.

    The tough ones are the 2nd type, and they take the most work as a manager. I have had employees who are so close to being able to change that you want to just kick them in the butt over the fence, but they just can't quite seem to make it. Others struggle for years and keep getting second-rate reviews and 3/4 or 1/2 of the raises they could have gotten because of lack of follow-through, poor communication, etc.

    The greatest feeling though is when you have an employee who really sees what it is you've been doing, adopts their work style to it (and even uses some of the same tools you do), and then goes above and beyond. You usually wind up 'losing' those to better positions in or out of the company, but it's sort like watching your son graduate.
  • Hi Michael. Thanks for stopping by.

    I agree that when you're the boss you can do certain things differently. For our customer service department I adapted our P&P to a close-to-GTD methodology to ensure we are proactive and nothing slips through the cracks. It has been working quite well.

    Also for people who report directly to me, I ask them to keep track of the outcomes (projects) in a list I've assigned to them and give me a weekly report on actions they've taken to move each of the projects forward. I also ask that they have a next action for each project defined when they submit their progress.

    If I had peers, I think this would be a harder sell (even if it would be for their own good!) :)
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