QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability at Work and in Life

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This book will help each of us learn to recognize and ask better questions. And just to be clear, QBQs are questions we generally ask ourselves, not others. They are rarely questions we speak out loud to colleagues, customers, family, and friends— but rather ones we think in our own mind.

At QBQ, Inc., we exist to help you, the QBQ! reader and learner, as well as our customer, apply the QBQ! material at work and home. So, please, never hesitate to reach out to us. Before we go on to the first Advantage Principle, take a moment to review the IQ/QBQ comparisons one by one. Think about how you might make better choices and ask better questions. Consider the impact of eliminating blame, complaining, victim thinking, and procrastination. Imagine the difference the QBQ will make in your life, both at work and at home. Instead of, "Who dropped the ball?" "Why do they keep messing up?" or "Why do we have to go through all these changes?" you will begin to ask, "How can I improve this situation?" "What can I contribute?" and "How can I make a difference?" i decided to continue on and though i learned a lot and think what he's trying to teach people is great (but i still think he shouldn't have used that example!) Like many business books, this book can be summarized on a postcard: Take more personal responsibility for the problems you encounter. Don't ask questions that blame other people, or express frustration (e.g., "Why is this happening to me?") Instead, ask the "Question Behind the Question (QBQ) (e.g., "How can I improve this?").

How can we become more like David? By asking QBQs that open our minds and help us embrace change. And that's when we start practicing the Advantage Principle of Learning! I recently left the company I had been working for the last twelve years and the awesome team I had cultivated there. Going into a new company and new culture was a little scary and I wasn't sure what to expect. In some ways the company culture is better and in some ways it was worse. There are always trade offs right, but starting with a new team I found there were a few people in it that played the blame game actively and while some statements made might be true they weren't productive to getting work done.

Perfect for a trivia night or a long trip, #TrainTeasers will both test your knowledge of this country`s rail system and enlighten you on the most colourful aspects of its long history. Meet trunk murderers, trainspotters, haters of railways, railway writers, Ministers for Transport good and bad, railway cats, dogs and a railway penguin. This is NOT a book for number-crunching nerds. Many of the answers are guessable by the intelligent reader. It is a quiz, yes, but also a cavalcade of historical incident and colour relating to a system that was the making of modern Britain. Here's an integrity test for anyone who's part of an organiziation: Does what we say about our organization while we're at work match what we say at home? If it's positive at work and negative a few hours later at home, we have a choice to make. Here's an idea we should all consider:Even the best of us can fall into the trap of blaming others - here's the problem: I can never succeed, as long as I believe that my situation is someone else's fault. It is only when I ask myself the QBQ (question behind the question) that I am finally set free. One of the guiding principles of the QBQ is “The answers are in the questions,” which speaks to the same truth: If we ask ourselves a better question, we get a better answer. So the QBQ is about asking better questions. But how can we tell a good question from a bad one? What does a “better” question sound like? I then sat there in my seat, on the tarmac, for another eight hours due to winter weather delays. All around me people got angrier and angrier and I could only laugh because I had just finished this book and was unable to access a victim mentality without the question behind the question (the QBQ) rising up. What would you say if I told you I have a friend who never takes out his garbage? Instead he keeps it stored in drawers, plastic containers, and boxes. From time to time he pulls it out, spreads it on the floor, and rolls in it-for hours. I imagine you'd say that purposely collecting, hoarding, and wallowing in garbage is a ridiculous-even insane-thing to do. And I'd agree. Yet we all do it-maybe not literally, like my fictional friend, but in our minds.