John (age 22) and Karen (19) on June 21, 1980
Karen Elizabeth Giles Miller has many roles …
And one other title that fits her well:
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I asked Molly, our twentysomething daughter, who has served as captain of soccer and basketball teams, “Molly, in your opinion, what makes an effective team?” I was honestly just curious what she’d say; it wasn’t like I was doing book research! But I loved her answer: “Everyone taking care of their own stuff, Dad. Everybody working hard at doing their job.” I appreciated her thought so much, it went into Outstanding! under the chapter titled, “Work!”
Continue ReadingIn Flipping the Switch, the companion book to QBQ!, we teach five “Roadblocks to Learning.” One of them is Exclusion, and it’s all about when we, based on our faulty assumptions of people around us, fail to learn from them.
My story:
Continue ReadingWhen I do a radio, TV, or podcast interview, I’m often asked this question:
“John, what is the number one take-away for people who read the QBQ! book or go through a ‘Personal Accountability and the QBQ!’ training session?”
I always answer, “Oh, that’s easy: I can only change me.”
Continue ReadingAfter 28 years of calling on senior executives, I want to scream …
STOP THE MADNESS! LOSE THE CONSULTANTS!
I just returned from speaking on “Personal Accountability and the QBQ!” in Europe. In my travels, I met several people who told me their employer currently has “change management” consultants* (Old joke: A consultant is someone who borrows my watch and tells me what time it is!) roaming their hallways, holding small employee meetings, and leading executives to and through mountaintop retreats.
And my guess is, the consultants are working from a definition of “organizational culture” that sounds something like this:
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When I saw the picture on the far left seconds after it was taken April 8, 2012, I knew a “first step” was needed. The next day—at 195 pounds—my journey began …
Continue ReadingI just can’t resist using these pictures I took near our Colorado home, because every single time I see this scene I wonder this:
Do I do anything over and over that fails to generate a positive result?
On the left we see a driveway overrun with weeds, and a small formerly attached garage in the background. I say “formerly” because the house it was attached to burned down three years ago.
On the right we see several issues of the weekend Denver Post, tossed there by a delivery person week after week even though the house at this address burned down three years ago!
Continue ReadingHere’s a question every organization can ask:
What problem do we have that would be solved by a positive change in our people’s thinking, emotions, and behaviors?
This email came from a prospective QBQ! client:
“We are a large manufacturer of industrial products and we ship to customers all around the world. Our plant is operating six to seven days a week with very little down time, causing fatigue and tension between our teams. We hear a lot of ‘It’s not my fault’ and ‘I am a victim’ stuff, along with the ever popular blame game.”
Now that’s real stuff.
Continue ReadingNew at the QBQ.com store is our fun, practical, and meaningful QBQ! poster:
Ten Truths of Personal Accountability
And now, our newest blog post …
I had just finished teaching 20 of the “47 Ways to Be Exceptional” from our Outstanding! book at a cancer research hospital, when the Director of Anesthesiology asked, “How do I do some of that stuff like your manager did in the houseplant story you told?”
And I thought, Well, nice to know my content is still relevant.
You see, in the corporate world, people (Read: fad crazy executives and their HR, training, and OD departments) are always searching for the next magic solution or bolt of white lightening to fix the problems faced. It’s too bad they waste time, money, and energy chasing the latest training craze, when all they need to do is return to the fundamentals.
A few questions:
