List Books » QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability in Work and in Life
Authors: John G. Miller
ISBN-13: 9780399152337, ISBN-10: 0399152334
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Date Published: September 2004
Edition: (Non-applicable)
John G. Miller is the founder of QBQ, Inc., an organizational-development firm dedicated to making personal accountability a core value for organizations and individuals. Together with a nationwide network of QBQ!-certified consultants, Miller has brought his message to countless corporations as well as academic, nonprofit, and government groups, including American Express, American Cancer Society, Royal Bank of Canada, and Merck. A graduate of Cornell, he lives in Denver with his wife, Karen, and their seven children.
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.
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 ... | 1 | |
1 | A picture of personal accountability | 6 |
2 | Making better choices | 14 |
3 | QBQ! The question behind the question | 17 |
4 | Don't ask "why?" | 20 |
5 | The victim | 24 |
6 | "Why is this happening to me?" | 26 |
7 | "Why do we have to go through all this change?" | 28 |
8 | "Why don't they communicate better?" | 32 |
9 | Don't ask "when?" | 33 |
10 | Procrastination : the friend of failure | 36 |
11 | "When will we get more tools and better systems?" | 39 |
12 | "When are we going to hear something new?" | 41 |
13 | Don't ask "who?" | 43 |
14 | A poor sailor blames the wind | 48 |
15 | Silos | 50 |
16 | Beat the ref | 53 |
17 | "Who dropped the ball?" | 56 |
18 | Ownership | 59 |
19 | The foundation of teamwork | 61 |
20 | Making accountability personal : all QBQs contain an "I" | 63 |
21 | I can only change me | 66 |
22 | "He didn't, I did" | 71 |
23 | "When will others walk their talk?" | 73 |
24 | An integrity test | 76 |
25 | The power of one | 77 |
26 | A QBQ twist | 79 |
27 | Will the real role models please stand up! | 80 |
28 | Practicing personal accountability : all QBQs focus on action | 81 |
29 | The risk of doing nothing | 84 |
30 | "Thanks for shopping at the Home Depot!" | 86 |
31 | Leaders at all levels | 91 |
32 | The cornerstone of leadership | 94 |
33 | Leaders are not problem solvers | 96 |
34 | A great list of lousy questions | 98 |
35 | The spirit of the QBQ | 106 |
36 | Wisdom | 109 |
37 | We buy too many books | 110 |
38 | A final picture | 111 |
39 | The motor of learning | 115 |