Remember bands like Phish and Guster? With cultlike following, these
musicians travelled each summer to the delight of thousands of fans.
Their appeal was almost mystical and while devotees couldn't pinpoint
the exact moment of attraction, they would travel far and wide to see
them in concert.

Then, quietly, something happened. They went mainstream.

So
too with David Allen and Getting Things Done. Don't misread me- I'm
not lamenting this. Only putting words to the obvious- GTD is going
mainstream. Consider the following as noted in a recent article in Business Week:

The David Allen Company is now an $8 million enterprise

Allen's third book will come out in December of '08 and is sure to be a smashing success

Big box stores like Staples will soon be selling DAC co-branded products

The GTD Global Summit will most likely become huge success in March of '09, much like the TED conferences have become for creative and design folks

None
of this is a bad thing. In fact, it's probably a natural progression
from the early days of GTD. It does however mean that GTD will no
longer be a fringe band like Phish and Guster. As the start-up "feel"
of GTD evaporates, practitioners will have to maintain its raw and
timeless spirit- get it out of your head, tools matter but not so much
as habits, what's the next action, etc.

Time
will tell as to how GTD shakes out over the next few years. The 7
Habits of Stephen Covey morphed into a line of products and moderately
successful stores but now seems so mid '90's. Will GTD stand the test
of going mainstream? As they say, time alone will tell.