Can You Practice Personal Accountability to Improve the Situation? It Is the Action That Matters.
Pros:
Short chapters which are very easy to go through. Interesting stories and examples.
Cons:
Simple and repetitive concept. It won't make a difference unless you implement the idea.
The Bottom Line:
The concept of "taking personal accountability" is expressed using many short stories. Several examples and guidelines are provided for you to implement the concept. But, you've got to do it!
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
When something against your wish happens, what do you do? Do you blame other people who made the bad situation happen, do you blame fate or bad luck, or do you attempt to take action and turn the situation around? This book tells you the "correct question" to ask, which hopefully leads to proactive actions, and gives you some examples in different situations.
The Content of the Book
Human nature usually tends to ask "incorrect questions" at the first sight of trouble, such as, "Why didn't he do his job?" or "Why is this happening to me?" The "Why" questions make us powerless and stressful. The "When" questions make us wait and overwhelmed. The "Who" questions lead us to search and resentment. Those questions focus on things or people outside or external to us, and lead us into blame, complaining, and procrastination. Therefore, the conclusion is, "There is nothing I can do about it".
Through several short stories, John G. Miller demonstrates that if we just change our mental setting and ask different questions, the Question Behind the Question (QBQ), people can be resourceful and create a solution to the problem. For example, if we ask, "What can I do?" or "How can I help?", the actions will follow and our efforts should have better results. When the phrase "Think outside the box" becomes more and more popular, John believes that people should also "Succeed inside the box" and take personal accountability. If we carry this out, our lives should be more rewarding, and other people in our lives should win as well.
The QBQ's have three common natures:
1. Begin with "What" or "How" (not "Why," "When," or "Who").
2. Contain an "I" (not "they," "them," "we," or "you").
3. Focus on action.
Therefore, the essence of QBQ is that "the answers are in the questions". If you ask the right question, you can make positive moves toward achievement and a rewarding life. Towards the end of the book, John provides a list of incorrect questions that usually comes to people's minds first, followed by suggested QBQ's that will lead to actions and better results. These questions are organized into different departments (such as Sales, Management, Marketing...), and different life situations (such as Parents, Spouse, Neighbor, Teenager...).
Technical Information
This book comes in three different formats: Paperback (used only), Hardcover (listed at $19.95), and Unabridged Audio CD (listed at $14.95). Used copies are going for less than $10 now (Nov, 2004). For a sample of the chapters and the table of content, you can go to:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0966583299/ref=sib_dp_rdr/104-5023564-0131103#reader-link
Web Presence
The official website of this book (or, this concept) is at:
http://www.qbq.com/
There are services for businesses (such as pricing and scheduling for seminars, and quantity discount for the books), as well as for individuals (such as free quick notes subscription, e-cards, and the "Street Team" membership, which allows QBQ followers to officially spread the words out).
My Thoughts After Reading This Book
The author uses very smooth, casual, and conversational language to tell the stories, so you can almost scan through the paragraphs. There are 39 chapters in the book, but they are as short as half a page. It is very easy to pick up the book everyday and spend 5 to 10 minutes (or as long as you want) to read and think about what you have just read.
Since there are many short stories, this book provides good materials for one reader to spread the words out to other potential adapters. Whether you are telling the youngsters a story, doing a presentation to a large audience, or publishing an article, you can easily borrow a story or two and introduce the personal accountability concept to other people.
Unfortunately, the concept of taking personal accountability is very easy to understand, but difficult to implement. No one likes to clean up after other people's mess, or invest the effort to improve the overall situation, especially if the action may go without a certain short-term reward. This book basically points out the "right way" to do things, which we probably already know. The real challenge is, can you really motivate yourself to carry out the desired actions? Will this book actually help you realize the potential benefits if you take personal responsibility?
Final Words
In conclusion, the concept of the book is very simple: Do not blame other people, but take actions to improve the situations instead. The value of the book is in conveying this concept in easy-reading stories that are more acceptable by the general public, and providing actionable examples in case the reader does not know how to start. However, this is not a book to be displayed on the shelf. It means nothing if the reader does not implement the concept. It is the best to obtain a free copy (either from a friend or the library), learn the tips, act it out, and pass it on to the next person.
