About 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. Rather, the real solutions are found when each of us recognizes the power of personal accountability. In QBQ! The Question Behind the Question®, Miller explains how negative, ill-focused questions like “Why do we have to go through all this change?” and “Who dropped the ball?” represent a lack of personal accountability. Conversely, when we ask better questions—QBQs—such as “What can I do to contribute?” or “How can I help solve the problem?” our lives and our organizations are transformed.
THE QBQ! PROMISE
This remarkable and timely book provides a practical method for putting personal accountability into daily actions, with astonishing results: problems are solved, internal barriers come down, service improves, teams thrive, and people adapt to change more quickly. QBQ! is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to learn, grow, and change. Using this tool, each of us can add tremendous worth to our organizations and to our lives by eliminating blame, victim-thinking, and procrastination.
QBQ! was written more than a decade ago and has helped countless readers practice personal accountability at work and at home. This version features a new foreword, revisions and new material throughout, and a section of FAQs that the author has received over the years.
- Complete Title: QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability in Work and in Life
- Format: Hardcover
- Language: English
- Number of Pages: 115
- Publication Time: September 9, 2004
- Publisher: TarcherPerigee
- ISBN: 0399152334
- ISBN13: 9780399152337
About John G. Miller
John G. Miller
John G. Miller is the founder of QBQ, Inc., an organizational development company dedicated to making personal accountability a core value for organizations and individuals. QBQ, Inc. has worked with hundreds of Fortune 500 and other companies and governmental and non-government organizations internationally. Miller, who appears frequently on national television and radio, is the author of the bestselling QBQ! The Question Behind the Question and Flipping the Switch: Five Keys to Success at Work and in Life. He lives in Denver.
Reviews QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability in Work and in Life
Chris Rock
It’s unfortunate that the system won’t let me give this less than one star.Like many business books, this book can be summarized on a postcard: Take more personal responsibility for the problems you e…
Tinea
This book was pretty annoying, because it sings the tune of a cranky old white guy with bootstrap mentality, and fuck a bunch of horrible humans and oppressive power systems in the deathculture of het…
Scott Freeman
This book painted with such a broad brush that it failed to capture any of the nuance of interpersonal relationships and corporate responsibility. I understand the concept of personal accountability a…
Sara (Empress Pengy)
This is a hideous, hideous book that I, like many people in shitty low-wage/no benefit jobs was required to read for work. It’s main message seems to be how can I help the CEO get richer by groveling…
Sara
This book was required reading at a large retail department store chain, where I worked,when it was taken over by new management. “QBQ” became our new mantra and managers were constantly hounding us t…
Robin (Bridge Four)
This is a must read I think for people in leadership roles but also for the people in any organization there are a lot of quick stories with the same take away. What can I do: to make this work better…
Daniel Silvert
There’s big wisdom in this little book. John Miller tackles a big subject, personal accountability, with a surprisingly simple premise: The questions we ask ourselves, “why is this happening again…
K
Read this for work. Not impressed. Personal accountability is important, yes. This book just read like a branding and marketing of ideas and concepts that are in lots of other books. Some of it a bit…
Kristopher Kelly
Read this for work. Now I’m wondering: How can I never read another book like this? The eponymous acronym is meaningless and seems like simply an attempt to brand the pretty basic idea that one should…