QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability in Work and in Life
The lack of personal accountability is a problem that has resulted in an epidemic of blame, victim thinking, complaining, and procrastination. No organization—or individual—can successfully compete in the marketplace, achieve goals and objectives, provide outstanding service, engage in exceptional teamwork, or develop people without personal accountability. \ John G. Miller believes that the troubles that plague organizations cannot be solved by pointing fingers and blaming others....
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Who Moved My Cheese? showed readers how to adapt to change. Fish! helped raise flagging morale. Execution guided readers to overcome the inability to get things done. QBQ! The Question Behind the Question, already a phenomenon in its self-published edition, addresses the most important issue in business and society today: personal accountability. The lack of personal accountability has resulted in an epidemic of blame, complaining, and procrastination. No organization-or individual-can achieve goals, compete in the marketplace, fulfill a vision, or develop people and teams without personal accountability. The solution involves an entirely new approach. We can no longer ask, "Who dropped the ball?" "Why can't they do their work properly?" or "Why do we have to go through all these changes?" Instead, every individual has to ask the question behind the question: "How can I improve this situation?" "What can I contribute?" or "How can I make a difference?" Succinct, insightful, and practical, QBQ! The Question Behind the Question provides a method for putting personal accountability into daily action, which can bring astonishing results: problems get solved, barriers come down, service improves, teamwork grows, and people adapt to change. Publishers Weekly This is a quick but deep book that explores the role of personal accountability in one's work and personal life. In his own work experience, Miller found that many people look for others to blame their problems and conflicts on. He proposes that instead of asking who is to blame for the situation, we should ask, "What can I do to improve the situation?" Only by being able to ask this "question behind the question" can we take ownership of the problem and start working toward a solution. Throughout the book, Miller (who has consulted for major corporations with his firm, QBQ, Inc.) recounts real-world situations in customer service, retail sales, personal relationships and the corporate boardroom and the positive and not-so-positive ways they were handled. Each example reinforces the message that personal accountability and ownership of a problem not only leads to a resolution but also lifts people willing to take ownership and action above those looking to play the "blame game." From responsibility, says the author, comes leadership and greater career opportunities. In one's personal life, Miller says, ownership of conflict can also lead to enhanced relationships and greater enjoyment of daily life. Agent, Barret Neville. (Sept. 13) Forecast: According to Putnam, this book sold 250,000 copies when Miller self-published it, and Putnam is positioning it as the next Who Moved My Cheese? Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Introduction : what ever happened to ...11A picture of personal accountability62Making better choices143QBQ! The question behind the question174Don't ask "why?"205The victim246"Why is this happening to me?"267"Why do we have to go through all this change?"288"Why don't they communicate better?"329Don't ask "when?"3310Procrastination : the friend of failure3611"When will we get more tools and better systems?"3912"When are we going to hear something new?"4113Don't ask "who?"4314A poor sailor blames the wind4815Silos5016Beat the ref5317"Who dropped the ball?"5618Ownership5919The foundation of teamwork6120Making accountability personal : all QBQs contain an "I"6321I can only change me6622"He didn't, I did"7123"When will others walk their talk?"7324An integrity test7625The power of one7726A QBQ twist7927Will the real role models please stand up!8028Practicing personal accountability : all QBQs focus on action8129The risk of doing nothing8430"Thanks for shopping at the Home Depot!"8631Leaders at all levels9132The cornerstone of leadership9433Leaders are not problem solvers9634A great list of lousy questions9835The spirit of the QBQ10636Wisdom10937We buy too many books11038A final picture11139The motor of learning115
\ From Barnes & NobleEvery work team has an unhealthy share of Monday morning quarterbacks. As whispered accusations of "you dropped the ball" accumulate, progress is stifled and cooperation wanes. John G. Miller, the founder of the QBQ organizational development firm, thinks that personal accountability is the answer to pervasive blame-game problems. In this delightfully succinct book, he explains how managers and workers can create a business culture in which everybody walks their talk.\ \ \ \ \ Publishers WeeklyThis is a quick but deep book that explores the role of personal accountability in one's work and personal life. In his own work experience, Miller found that many people look for others to blame their problems and conflicts on. He proposes that instead of asking who is to blame for the situation, we should ask, "What can I do to improve the situation?" Only by being able to ask this "question behind the question" can we take ownership of the problem and start working toward a solution. Throughout the book, Miller (who has consulted for major corporations with his firm, QBQ, Inc.) recounts real-world situations in customer service, retail sales, personal relationships and the corporate boardroom and the positive and not-so-positive ways they were handled. Each example reinforces the message that personal accountability and ownership of a problem not only leads to a resolution but also lifts people willing to take ownership and action above those looking to play the "blame game." From responsibility, says the author, comes leadership and greater career opportunities. In one's personal life, Miller says, ownership of conflict can also lead to enhanced relationships and greater enjoyment of daily life. Agent, Barret Neville. (Sept. 13) Forecast: According to Putnam, this book sold 250,000 copies when Miller self-published it, and Putnam is positioning it as the next Who Moved My Cheese? Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.\ \ \ Library JournalA rather simple tool that encourages personal accountability, the QBQ (question behind the question) drives Miller's organizational development firm of the same name. Rephrasing issues is the trick: begin with what or how, personalize with I, and focus on action. Thus, "When will they take care of the problem?" turns into "What can I do?" The advice here is admirable (e.g., stop procrastinating, change oneself) though hardly revelatory. The brief, breezy chapters crackle with energy, but, as they lack coherence and linear structure, the resultant zap dies out. Occasional lectures and corniness are forgivable; recycling material from Miller's previous Personal Accountability: Powerful and Practical Ideas for You and Your Organization (1999) is not. Stick with the prior title if you have it; otherwise, order on demand. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.\ \
