In this book, we will explore the QBQ! Advantage Principles-five fundamental concepts or values that guide our behavior. The QBQ! Advantage Principles are:

The Question Behind the Question (QBQ) is a great starter book to identify when you are asking an incorrect question as opposed to a productive question. For example some of the incorrect questions management asks are things like: This book is a little short, so it is hard to write about. The basic moral of this book was taking situations that the writer had in his life, and going more in depth in it. He would go and find the question behind the question. One thing I did enjoy in this book was some of the stories in it. There were some short stories in this book that we’re somewhat intriguing and relatable, yet a lot of them I didn’t like very much. Some stories would talk about how what people do and what you think of it. I liked those stories. Yet in this book there were some stories that were either too demanding or too in depth about the Question behind the question.From the bestselling author of QBQ! The Question Behind the Question comes a workbook to help you on your journey to embrace personal accountability. This book was required reading at a large retail department store chain, where I worked,when it was taken over by new management. "QBQ" became our new mantra and managers were constantly hounding us to answer the "Question Behind the Question." It's certainly light reading and not much of a challenge intellectually; it does make suggestions that encourage excellent customer service - there is nothing wrong with that, but...the overall premise, that there are no limits to providing such service, is questionable. I believe in civility and respect when dealing with customers, helping them with their needs and making the process as satisfactory as possible, but I also believe that stopping at nothing to give the customer what he/she wants is the best way to create a monster. Customers become arrogant,rude, crazy with power and an attitude that they are entitled to satisfaction at any cost (a cost not to borne by them of course); once you give them what they want, they want - no demand - more. Sorry, I'm going off on a tangent here, but I think books that espouse philosophies such as this book does are actually dangerous. When we ask better questions, we get better answers. The QBQ guidelines show us how to build better questions and which questions to avoid. Also, it's important to remember that these are questions we ask of ourselves, not of others. The QBQ is primar-ily a self-management tool, designed to help us re-frame our own thinking. Afterward, we all moved to another room for the company's annual awards banquet. When dinner was over, the CEO got up and began lauding people for their achievements. One by one they came forward to receive their recognition, a parade of smiling achievers smothered in the applause of their peers.

People these days seem to be all about blaming everyone but themselves for their problems. We hear people say of their troubles “it’s just the way it is” without any hope for changing their situation. Many feel entitled to benefits without any willingness to become proactive and accountable for improving their situation. A tool is something we can use to help us-in the moment-perform at higher levels. Organizations have wasted billions of dollars on so-called tools that are really only motivational sessions, platitudes, and great-sounding fads. But when we get pumped up in our meetings, rallies, and seminars, and then have to go out to do our jobs-something happens: We hit the "wall of reality." We think, What I heard in training sounded good, but it's not working for me in the real world. In other words, it's not practical. And if it's not practical, it's not much of a tool. The first QBQ guideline says all QBQs begin with “What” or “How,” not “Why,”“When,” or “Who.” Take another look at the “Why?” questions at the beginning of the chapter and consider what would happen if we asked these instead: Even though there are risks involved in taking action, the alternative, inaction, is almost never the better choice. Don’t be like the rest of the world. Instead of blaming everything else for your problems, maintain accountability by asking questions with “I” in them. Doing so will help you take ownership over aspects of your life that you feel you can never improve. Things that seem permanent to you now will become changeable when you put “I” into your questions.Personal accountability is about eliminating blame, complaining, and procrastination. When we point fingers looking for "whodunit," when we lament about our situation and what people are doing to us, and when we delay our own contribution while waiting for others to act, we are not putting personal accountability into action. Instead of asking questions about “they,” “them,” “we,” or “you,” make sure that you focus on yourself by including “I.” I was on a long flight, sitting next to a man in his mid-​fifties. We introduced ourselves and started a friendly conversation along the lines of “Where are you heading?” and “What do you do?” It turns out he owns a second home near Aspen and was just returning from a twenty-one-day ski vacation. Wow! I thought. Twenty-one days in Aspen. This man has some discretionary income! He went on to say that he lives in New York City and works on Wall Street. Guess what he does? He’s not a broker. He’s a personal injury attorney.