QBQ! QuickNote®
Outstanding! is Different
Since “outstanding” means to stand out—and only a few organizations really do—then it makes sense to say that to be outstanding is to be different.
It’s also true that Outstanding!—the book—is different. That is, it’s different from my other two. Yet there is commonality.
“This book will do for organizations what QBQ! and Flipping the Switch have done for individuals: Make them better.”
John Duff of Penguin/Putnam, publisher of my books (as well as Who Moved My Cheese?) made that remark the day we agreed I’d write Outstanding! 47 Ways to Make Your Organization Exceptional. It’s no surprise that an author would agree with a comment like this, right?! And the truth is, our organizations, just like people, can be better. They can even be outstanding.
But this is what it takes:
Effort. Energy. Time. Commitment. Dialogue. Learning. In other words, it takes work.
It also takes content.
Outstanding! has the content. We ask you to do the work. The book is dedicated to “those who care enough to improve the place,” and my hope is … that’s you!
Outstanding! differs from QBQ! and Flipping the Switch (FTS) in that the latter two offer a quickly-applied, life-changing, thought-shifting, behavior-altering, and habit-busting tool that we at QBQ, Inc. call The Question Behind the Question®. (Sorry if that sounds a bit proud, but it’s what we hear from readers!). These books are focused on one core idea (personal accountability) and one person (the reader) and one goal (the reader improving self).
But Outstanding! is focused on many ideas (47 of them, in fact) and the broader goal of improving the organization. This huge difference lends itself not only to more pages (a couple hour read versus 55 minutes for QBQ! and FTS), but requires a different type of engagement with the content. Many individuals read the shorter books and immediately use the material to eliminate Blame, Victim-thinking, and Procrastination from their lives. But with Outstanding! and its goal of making the organization better, collaboration and teamwork are critical.
So, since you and I believe in practicing The Question Behind the Question (QBQ) methodology of asking accountable questions, I pose this friendly challenge to “QBQ! Zealots” everywhere: Ask QBQs such as, “What can I do today to help my organization be outstanding?” and “How can I provide my team the tools to make our organization better?”
These QBQs direct us straight to Outstanding!—a book not to talk about, but to talk through, as a team. A manager emailed saying, “I loved the stories, the bite-size chapters, and the 47 commonsense ideas, but Outstanding! really came to life when my staff and I studied it together as a group.” Perfectly put. Outstanding! is a tool for TEAMS—a book to study, explore, and review, chapter by chapter, page by page, idea by idea.
Here’s our recommendation on how to best put Outstanding! to work:
Since true learning occurs during conversation, discussion, and dialogue, picture your department, work group, or team getting together virtually or face-to-face to work on questions like …
“In what ways can we enhance our focus and ‘keep the mission top of mind’?”
“What can be done to ensure we ‘never forget who pays the bills’?”
“Do we strive to ‘work’ or has entitlement thinking crept into our culture?”
“How does the customer win when we ‘make no excuses’?”
“If we don’t ‘forgive mistakes,’ but rather hold grudges between departments, what are the costs?”
“Do we ‘coach moment to moment’ or just annually on Performance Review Day?”
“What will be gained when we commit to ‘seek no culprits’ and strive only to solve problems?”
There are countless questions a team can work through based on the “47 Ways” in Outstanding! I just provided seven based on seven chapter titles (in single quotes). Go ahead, review those questions and envision your team exploring them after reading the related chapter. I promise you, the experience will range from a fun conversation to a spirited debate—but the result will be the same: Learning.
And as we say around here, when there is learning there is change. And that’s a good thing.
Allow me to be plain spoken: Discussion, dialogue, learning, and change require work. Honestly, it doesn’t take much effort to buy a book, read it, loan it out, or give it away. The real work is done when we get together—investing time and energy, risking our own attitudes and actions being challenged—to delve deeply into the content. Therein lies the value of Outstanding! …
… it’s in the work.
And as I said, the Outstanding! book provides the content. You—because you care enough to improve the place—provide the work.
Bottomline, as Dave Ramsey stated in his front cover endorsement of Outstanding!, your colleagues and you will find a “road map” to becoming exceptional, and exceptional is an outstanding place to be.
So be different—do the work and Be Outstanding!®
So, a special offer: Purchase a carton of 12 Outstanding! books at our store and we will email you 47 FREE discussion questions—one for each chapter—for your team to work through. Believe me, it’ll be outstanding!
Click on this link and type the word “questions” into the order form “comments” box:
https://qbq.com//store/product_info.php?cPath=33&products_id=82
Thanks much!
John G. Miller
Author of …
Outstanding! 47 Ways to Make Your Organization Exceptional
QBQ! The Question Behind the Question®
Flipping the Switch … Unleash the Power of Personal Accountability
