Book Review: QBQ – The Question Behind the Question
By Matt - Tuesday, January 9th, 2007
When confronted with a problem one of the very first things we do is question the situation around us. Very simply we need to know as much information as possible before we make a decision on what to do. Unfortunately too many of us don’t wait till we have enough information or worse still don’t bother to get the right information before making a decision; QBQ goes on to address this to some extent.
This little book changes the questions that you ask in reaction to everyday issues and problems instead of our typical scripted responses. It drills down below the surface removing often blame producing questions, that start with why, and gets down to ones that can help and improve the situation without victimization. The book drives home the message that you need to be accountable for your actions and choices and how you react to problems is something you have control over rather than being a victim.
This book is also a self-improvement book in that not only does it get you to become accountable in the business sense it also gets you to be accountable on a personal level. It makes you aware that by asking the right questions you can remove the self-victimization that many of us use as justification for our actions rather than personal accountability. Very simply this short book gives you a kick in the pants and empowers you to take control of the things you have influence over and lets you take leadership of yourself; you can really only change yourself.
I enjoyed QBQ, it was a really fast read and although it’s not earth shattering in its writing style the message is definitely sound and our business world would be a lot better if more people applied it. As I was reading this book I couldn’t help but think how much this book would compliment a book like Seth Goodin’s The Purple Cow. This book is worth spending the time to read; you might just start asking the right questions afterwards.
Technorati Tags: books, book review, QBQ, questions, improvement
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2 Responses to “Book Review: QBQ – The Question Behind the Question”
1 Maria says:
January 10th, 2007
at 12:04 am
Businesses need more books like that to keep their employees “well-rounded.” Too often business-types get stuck in a “make money, make more money” attitude and forget about what really matters.
Thanks for sharing!
2 Matt says:
January 11th, 2007
at 7:27 am
Businesses need to pay attention to their employees a little bit more than they do now. I’ve seen too many businesses just dish out a paycheck and bitch about the quality of work without doing anything about it.
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