Blame, it’s a bad thing—and it takes on many forms. Here’s a humorous one:
An executive at a medical products distribution organization told me, “So, yeah, we’ve got some problems, like our field salespeople calling our headquarters the ‘sales prevention club’!”
Hey, a new acronym—the SPC!
If we didn’t have the home office getting in our way, we could make more sales!
Blame can also take on the dangerous form of culprit-seeking questions like:
Continue ReadingIf you’ve read Outstanding!, then you know all about the “47 ways to make your organization exceptional.” If you haven’t, here’s the list.
Well, author’s prerogative—I’m adding a 48th:
Be Like Mike.
Our Colorado land-line and Internet provider is CenturyLink. They do a fine job for us, but I don’t go around raving about them. I have better things to do. However, I will take the time to extol the virtues of Mike, because people like him are the key to organizations being outstanding.
In the summer of 2012, Karen and I bought a “second home.” Yeah, I know, sounds snooty and uppity all at the same time. We didn’t plan to do it, but when we rented a house in Fraser, CO for a three day June get-away and saw that it was for sale, we asked, “Do we want to invest in this?”
YES!
So, we did. Overall, it’s been great, except for one thing: the DSL. Yes, even up in the mountains—I. Want. My. Internet!
Continue ReadingI’ve been speaking on or writing about personal accountability since 1995—and I’ve come to believe there are eight truths that do exist, but are often rejected:
1. Everybody wants everybody else to practice personal accountability. Enough said.
2. Individuals make exceptions for themselves when it comes to the principles of accountability and responsibility:
Example:
Continue ReadingI always enjoy speaking at a client event, partly because I love to sometimes be a contrarian.
Okay, who am I kidding—I love being “contrary” a lot. Karen and I even love to raise contrarians! I mean, who wants to be a lemming?
Truth be told, when any of our QBQ! speakers arrive at an event, they already have “contrarian” stamped on their forehead because our sessions are titled “Personal Accountability and the QBQ!” And I think Kristin, at age 30, is especially contrary. How much more of an upstream-swimming salmon can one be than to be a Millennial and teach PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY in this blame infested and entitlement laden society?
But enough about us, really. What about the QBQ! material? What does it do for people and where does it apply?
QBQ! changes the way we view others and ourselves. And, it applies to all aspects of our professional and home lives. Let’s just glance at a slice of our work life:
Continue ReadingAnonymous
Conversations. We have them all the time. With family, colleagues, friends, our dog—even ourselves. They’ve been taking place since the dawn of time. Conversing with others probably began like this:
Adam: “Why did you do that!? I told you not to eat from the forbidden tree! I can’t believe you would listen to that serpent’s lies! If you’d had a mother, you’d probably be just like her!!!”
Eve: “You did it, too! And why didn’t you kill that snake? You told me weeks ago you’d handle it. It wasn’t my fault. Why can’t you be more like your father???”
Sound familiar?
Continue ReadingMost of us have seen the criteria for effective goal-setting. You know, goals must be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic—all with a targeted time frame for getting there.
To be honest, I can’t say I’ve experienced many of those! I mean …
Ever had a bad day? How about a week of them? Let’s define a “bad day”:
Of course, one option is to quit. But we can’t do that every time something lousy happens, right? So what keeps us where we are, employed by our current organization even when things don’t go according to plan?
For some the response is “my mortgage and car payment.” The better answer is … BELIEF.
My dad, Jimmy Miller, was head wrestling coach at Cornell University from 1949-1974. In 1967 he was invited to lead the United States’ Pan American team. The “Pan Am” games are held one year before the Olympics and involve only North and South American countries.
Coach Jimmy Miller (top left) and the 1967 United States’ Pan American Games wrestling team.
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When Karen and I wrote Parenting the QBQ Way, little did we know who its message would touch, how wide-ranging its reach would be, and what difference it would make.
A few months in, we’re excited! Reviews like this and this sure help!
Parenting is such a critical endeavor for many reasons, not the least of which is moms and dads around the world are building the next generation who will run the world. So what could be more critical than the elimination of Blame, Victim Thinking, Complaining, and Procrastination from the lives of parents? This is exactly what the new “PQW” book does for families—even when they’re on the other side of the world!
“PQW” in Romanian!
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Managers, please, do not make three management mistakes:
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It was 1974 and I was 16. Mesmerized, I stared at the church organ dangling fifteen feet above the sanctuary floor. The church was the Danby Federated Church, seven miles south of Ithaca, NY—built in 1813.
My dad, Pastor Jimmy Miller, had spearheaded a drive to raise funds to refurbish the historic building, restoring it to its 19th-century glory.
Part of the project was the reopening of the original choir loft at the rear of the church. It had been closed decades earlier to be used for Sunday school classes.
Several men had rigged a chain and pulley system to hoist the organ from the floor to the loft. I remember how amazing it was to see the massive instrument floating in the air!
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