Ally and I had a LinkedIn chat the other day, and at least three messages came from it:
- The foundation of success is personal accountability.
- Outstanding organizations hire character over credentials.
- The “older” generation must teach/model personal accountability.
My exchange with Ally … enjoy!
Dear Mr. Miller:
I can still remember the first time I read the QBQ! book and thought, How can such a simple concept make so much sense?!
I will never forget the waiter and Diet Coke story … probably one of my favorites. That story helps me every day in what I do.
I received the QBQ! book when I was 15. I had reached out to a mentor at school about finding a part-time summer job and he told me before he would help me find a job he wanted me to read this book called “QBQ!”
As a 15-year-old, of course, I rolled my eyes and thought, Well, this book isn’t going to get me a job!
Funny enough, it did—in the food service industry. And then, by putting QBQ! into action each day I was promoted in three months to assistant manager at 16!
All because I asked accountable questions—QBQs!
QBQ! also helps me in accepting change and responding to high-stress situations in more positive, efficient ways.
Now that I work in the healthcare industry and will soon earn my degree in health care administration, I know one of my job duties will be to hire people. I will make it my goal to have all of my employees read this book and participate in a group discussions about the importance of taking personal accountability and letting go of the victim mentality!
Mr. Miller, your book changed my life in that one night that I read it front to back at age 15.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!
Ally
What can I add? Not much, except this: If Ally is our future, we’re gonna be okay.
9 Responses
Love it. I read this at age 30-something and it did the same thing for me. The Alex story resonated with a memory, although the Home Depot story is what I remember, being in the service industry myself the QBQ! book has helped a lot.
I bought a copy and presented it to our vice president of services and he was so impressed with it, started working with the company’s training folks to create a course with this book at its foundation, sadly he left the company before it could be implemented, and the training folks dropped it. 🙁
Wendy, glad you feel the same way about QBQ! Yep, love that Home Depot story too! Thanks!
This story makes me smile. This book changed my life and my favorite part is the waiter and the diet coke. I really love the part about “management, what a waste.” Makes me giggle every time. I am glad to see that your book is touching people of all ages. Practicing personal accountability is a daily struggle; thank goodness we have your book to get us through.
Hallie, gal you stopped by! Honored! Thanks for the kind words!
Hi John,
Another great story and testament to the fact that the QBQ! message spans generations and can change lives. QBQ! is a simple tool that works wonders!
Thanks for the message, John!
Dave
Way cool – and there is hope for those who follow QBQ! Robb
I too read the book QBQ. I was much older than 15, but I do have to say that it really changed the way I think about things and how I handle situations. I have referred to the book many many times throughout the years. And yes, the waiter and coke story is one of my favorites too. I find that when I ask the right questions, it really does make the outcome different.
Laurie, asking the right questions really makes the difference! So glad you said that. Because it’s true! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much for this. I teach QBQ in my high school classes, and having this as an intro will hopefully help me grab their attention this year. They always love the concept when we’re done, but getting them into it initially is sometimes a challenge. I feel so blessed that I am in a position to share this info with young people, and I appreciate this introduction!