QBQ! The Question Behind the Question

Rating:
Summary: QBQ! continues to work
Review: As a district mgr in a retail firm, I find it necessary to stay on top of my personal accountability game. It's easy - as John Miller writes in QBQ! - to slip into blame and victim thinking. We have big goals and quotas and we all want to win, but it's easy to ask the worng questions like "When will others carry their weight?" and "Why can't corporate support us more?" But then I work to create what Miller calls QBQs - questions that help me eliminate the blame and complaining. I begin to ask "What can I do?" and "How can I contribute?" and it's amazing how fast I am refocused. We are using the QBQ! training program with all our managers along with the book, and this whole concept of accountability is taking root. Our culture is changing and as we gear up for the end-of-year, it's apparent that people are asking QBQs and we will have better results. I know I will. Miller's book is a fast read, practical and humorous - I recommend it to any person or company wanting to really take personal accountability seriously.

Rating:
Summary: QBQ! does work!
Review: I am in the real estate/investment business and when I read QBQ! it changed completely for the better the way I think. I had been blaming my tenants/customers, property mgrs, the marketing dep't, etc. for my results and when I read QBQ! I sat down that night and asked "How can I be more effective?" and then set about writing out a new plan for my approach to my business. Since then things have improved greatly. The chapter on how I can only change myself has made me a better manager of my people, by far. The book took me an hour to read and then I went back through and re-read and highlighted. I take it wherever I go as it is such a practical message on personal accountability I can use it in all areas of my life. QBQ! deserves 5 stars ... maybe 6. I've read a ton of business books and QBQ! has made the difference for me.

Rating:
Summary: Deeply Personal & Broadly Universal
Review: I wish someone had told me a while ago, "Go out and buy and read this book...It could have an instant, dramatic, and positive influence on your life." I did buy and read this great book, and it has begun to change my life in some very positive ways. In fact, I think so much of this book that I have shared it with my boss (who loved it) and we have bought it and shared it with everyone in our office.

Miller's common-sense approach to addressing the deeply personal and broadly universal character issue of personal accountability was both refreshing and enlightening. The book is a series of short, simple, and inter-related chapters that discuss or illustrate different thoughts and perspectives about personal accountability. The chapters contain many outstanding stories, anecdotes, and personal experiences of people making a difference through personal accountability. Many times I personally related to the questions and situations Miller presented.

According to Miller, the essence of QBQ is making better choices in the moment by asking better questions. Instead of asking lousy questions that do not solve anything -- "Why don't they communicate better?" or "Who dropped the ball?" or "Who is going to solve this problem?" - Miller argues for questions that begin with "What" or "How," contain "I," and focus on action - "How can I make a difference?" or "What can I do to contribute?" Miller's argument was a great complement to Stephen Covey's first habit (of 7) of highly effective people (being proactive; being responsible for making good things happen in your life) and Viktor Frankl's last of the human freedoms (being able to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances).

Lastly, I believe Miller intended this book for individuals who are serious about introspection for the sake of character refinement and life improvement. I love challenges, and I took Miller's words that follow as a constructive challenge that I have gladly accepted:

"Learning is not attending, listening or reading. Nor is it merely gaining knowledge. Learning is really about translating 'knowing' what to do into 'doing' what we know. It's about changing. If we have not changed we have not learned. What have you learned today?"


Rating:
Summary: Excellent gift for grads!
Review: The message of this book is clear and simple, we all need to learn to take personal accountability for our work and our actions. I know I have been as guilty of this as anyone in my life and that's why this book had such a huge impact on me. There is far too much finger-pointing and passing the buck going on in this world today. I definitely do not want my children growing up thinking that they don't need to learn to own up to their actions. The issues presented in this book make it a perfect gift for anyone getting ready to enter the workforce. I would highly recommend this for high school students and college grads. I plan to keep this book on hand for my kids to read some day and I hope to refer to it myself many times until then, so that I can be a role model to them.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book
Review: I loved this book. I could not put it down till I had finished reading it. It was filled with stories that peaked and kept my attention. It had wonderful advise and it made sense. I find myself quoting the stories to friends often.
I would recommend this book to anyone who deals with the public. It would make a wonderful gift.

Rating:
Summary: Essentially, What is the Question for You?
Review: In this stressful holiday time, I sometimes wonder if if there is a meaning to it all. Essentially, what changes can I make in life to make it more fufilling. This book has not really changed my entire life, but it has simplified the process in promoting positive change. Overall, this book will help you manage difficult situations, channel your frustration about other peoples' shortcomings, and, most importantly, deal with your own issues. I personally liked it because the book was easy going and not overwhelming like some other books in the "self-help" category. Overall, it just helps you have a more positive outlook on life.

Rating:
Summary: Right for all people
Review: People who achieve anything in life practice personal accountability and QBQ! shows them how to do it. People who lose blame and whine and procrastinate. Our our firm we're using QBQ! to shape a No Blame culture and it's working. It's practical and easy to apply. The stories in the book truly speak to all of us whther it's Jacob at the Rockbottom or Judy at Home Depot or Brian the disabled man. Just excellent all around. As each of us learns to ask QBQs we become better people. The book works for people from CEO to the janitor - only cynics reject a message so sound and right as this one on personal accountability. If you are willing to look in the mirror, get QBQ! today. Six stars!

Rating:
Summary: Not for high achievers
Review: My company required its employees, all high-tech, highly motivated people, to read this book. Not a single person has had a positive experience with it. The examples and anecdotes provided in the book are too simple and no practical methodology is given to get serious results.

For example, Mr. Miller gives an example of Judy, a Wal-Mart employee who pays for a customer's purchase when all he has is a $100 bill. Instead of helping the customer politely using the process laid out by the employer, Mr. Miller suggests that this is the correct way to conduct business! Not practical in the corporate world. Often it is necessary to provide feedback to vendors, co-workers, and employees - feedback which can be negative. Mr. Miller suggests that if employees are showing up late for work, vendors are delivery sub-standard parts, or production line output is sagging, it's YOUR fault, and you must undertake fixing it! Mr. Miller tries to explain that constructive criticism is a concept not compatible with good employees or a positive view on life, but offers nothing helpful in dealing with problem employees or situations where you don't have time to be warm and fuzzy to get a problem resolved quickly.

The rest of the book offers cliches, buzz words, feel-good tactics, and euphanisms that tell what great employees already know: you can whine and complain, or you can find out what's broken and work to fix it.

I believe that there may be something useful in this book for personal growth or small businesses, but it doesn't really apply to highly motivated people or to companies where honest, direct, non-euphamistic language is critical to efficient work.

Rating:
Summary: Looking in the mirror!
Review: QBQ! is the answer to quit fooling yourself. This is possibly the best book I have read that can truly make a difference in our businesses and our lives! In some ways, it is a simple reminder of how you should approach many of life's situations. The DVD/facilitator lead training is the best training I've taken yet. We are training various teams within our organization. Truly on target to the problems facing me in business - and in my home life. By forcing each of us to look in the mirror, QBQ! is life changing. Rarely does one find so many pearls in one 55 minute read (the book). The chapters are short and I return to them over and over. Mr. Miller is so right - repetition is the key. As I have learned to use QBQ! and be more accountable, I find I solve problems more quickly and avoid the classic blame game. Also, by going to www.QBQ.com I've found even more info, some I get by email from QBQ, Inc. and some I can download on to my desk top. Don't miss their "QBQ! Panic Button" which provides pithy content straight from the book that I can put on my desktop and review thoughout the day to help me get through the day. In a word, everything about QBQ! is practical ... and that makes it excellent.

Rating:
Summary: Small book, big impact
Review: After reading a few pages, I'm hooked. This book takes about an hour to read and has a lifelong impact. The title implies exploring other questions based on the original question. However, the real story is about personal accountability in work and life.

Rather than doing what comes naturally for many of us and becoming defensive and pointing fingers, the book changes your mode of thinking from "It's his fault" to "How can I fix this?" For example, in a restaurant, a diner is waiting for his waiter to come to the table. He catches the attention of a waiter who says, "This isn't my table" and walks off. The diner can only hope the waiter went to alert the person who is responsible for his table.

A waiter who uses QBQ thinking would help the diner rather than dodging the table just because it's not his table. Such action has positive results on both the waiter and the customer.

In another story, a cashier pays for the customer's under $3 purchase as her register didn't have enough to provide change. This action resulted in the store getting 100 percent of the customer's business.

The book grabbed me and I applied QBQ thinking the day after reading it. It feels much better to take the QBQ route instead of responding defensively. Check the QBQ site for more examples and details (http://www.qbq.com).