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Yesterday, I was “The Jerk.”
Do you recall the 1979 Steve Martin movie “The Jerk” where he, as Navin Johnson, jumped up and down excitedly exclaiming, “The new phone book’s here! The new phone book’s here!”
He was soooo thrilled! He was in the new phonebook!
A classic movie moment here. (only 41 seconds)
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Jill and Tim Taylor in Home Improvement
In a 1995 episode of Home Improvement, Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor and his buddies discuss “The Look,” defined as the facial expression an unhappy wife employs to send a serious message to her husband.
During the scene, Tim’s sidekick, Al, chimes in with, “Oh, man, I hate ‘the look.’” When someone points out he’s not married, the still-living-at-home-forty-something says, “I get ‘The Look’ from Mother.”
Parents, have you mastered The Look?
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In a note we received from Albert Castillo, CEO of San Antonio Eye Center, there are so many powerful messages, we felt it important to share.
Continue ReadingJohn, the QBQ! book has been very inspiring for my staff. Each wrote a short essay on what the book meant to them, and many brought tears to my eyes. In return, I shared with them my own story. Here it is below:
What’s New at QBQ!? “The QBQ! Workbook” and Everything Else!
Since 2012, Karen and I have owned a 1995 home in the Rocky Mountains. Sitting high atop a hill overlooking the “Fraser Valley,” it provides a beautiful western view.
The lower portion of our one-acre lot has an old dirt driveway leading to a dirt road. We’ve never used this driveway since we can’t get up to the house with it. This driveway simply dead-ends into the hill below the home.
Alongside this useless driveway, grass and weeds grow. No biggie, I mean—it is the mountains. So I’ve never mowed there. In fact, there’s so little grass at 8,600 feet, we don’t even keep a mower in Fraser.
Last week, though, I loaded our 22” Toro push mower into my Tacoma and delivered it 88 miles to the house in the hills. I then slid, along with the mower, down the embankment to the old driveway and mowed weeds for over an hour.
Why did I do this?
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When I wrote the QBQ! book, little did I know people would view it as something other than a tool to bust blame, vanquish victim thinking, and purge procrastination from their organizations and lives. Some readers see it simply as Cathy sees it—a way to describe outstanding customer service. Enjoy her story!
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Grab the new QBQ! Workbook here. Personal, powerful, and practical!
We’ve had the game of Boggle in the Miller home since 1982. Fun, competitive, and challenging—and great for kids as it helps grow their “vocab.”
Here’s what always amazes me when I play:
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I’ve been to a bunch of corporate conferences in my 20 years of keynote speaking on “Personal Accountability and the QBQ!” Usually, I can be found standing in the back of the ballroom waiting to present.
So I’ve heard lots of executives talk. Mostly, it’s industry and company specific info and technical in nature. READ: Dry and dull.
Or it is “‘rah rah’ you can succeed!!!” stuff. READ: Waste of time.
But once in a while, while admittedly half-listening, an alarm goes off in my brain.
Like yesterday.
I was waiting to deliver my accountability message to 600 Walmart managers in Arkansas when one of the execs quoted the CEO of Walmart U.S.—Greg Foran—who has said:
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The King performing “Put the Blame On Me”
You’re probably thinking, No way, John! No blame at all? It’ll never happen!
You could be right. I mean, just watch the news, see what’s trending on social media, and listen to what is espoused daily by our political “leaders” …
What are we witnessing?
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Click below to enjoy a QBQ! interview on “The Mandy Connell Show” on 850KOA
For me, it’s often a small thing that speaks this big message:
BE THANKFUL!
Karen and I, along with two daughters, loitered at the mall recently, spending money on ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ANYONE NEEDED.
Back-to-school clothes for teens. Walking shoes for me. Fall decorations for Mom. A couple Frisbees, just for fun. Starbucks and “Doc” popcorn for all.
Like I said, nothing we had to have. Important question:
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Sears has a problem: A completely non-consumer-friendly “appliance repair” system.
Systems aren’t perfect—we all know that. In the QBQ! book, we teach this idea:
Don’t ask the lousy question, “When are we going to get better systems?”
Instead, ask “The Question Behind the Question” (QBQ), “What can I do to succeed with the systems I have?”
Now, back to Sears …
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