My wife, Karen, and I (7 kids!) have just written “Parenting the QBQ way – How to Be an Outstanding Parent and Raise Great Kids Using the Power of Personal Accountability.” Good, practical stuff! Just think what can happen when we eliminate Blame, Victim Thinking, and Procrastination from our families! The book is an eBook for your Kindle, Nook, iPad/iPhone, laptop, etc. Learn more here: www.QBQ.com/parents/

Go ahead and click on that link and check it out.

John G. Miller

Author of Outstanding!, QBQ!, and Flipping the Switch

Denver, Colorado

Personal Accountability and Education

We’re not education experts at QBQ, Inc., but I do wonder when people say that schools need more money and staff—which may or may not be true—how much could be accomplished by simply making personal accountability a core value within a school or a district. Over the years, our speakers have had the opportunity to do a bunch of QBQ! workshops and keynotes (enjoy one here*) for the education market. As a company, we’ve been honored to provide our books to teachers and administrators as they strive to build outstanding organizations and achieve stellar results.

And now, Kristin Lindeen has developed a brand new QBQ! curriculum titled I Own It! for teachers to use in the classroom to teach personal accountability to their students. In our piloting process, a Kansas City school implemented the program with some high-schoolers and received these “learning outcome” statements from the students:

• I won’t play the blame game anymore. I’ll keep my calm, step up, do my part, and get the job done without complaining.
• The single most important thing I realized is that victim thinking hurts me.
• I learned that I am in charge of myself. I can control my attitude, and eliminate blame and procrastination to make myself happier.
• I will apply the QBQ in my life each day so I can be a leader instead of watching from the sidelines.
• Using the QBQ, I can be a responsible young lady.

I just love that last one.

If you’re in education and this tool interests you, just shoot Kristin an email at Kristin@QBQ.com.

Meanwhile, it’s always terrific to hear about what QBQ! is doing for the adults running our schools, too. Let’s see what Jim, a principal in Arizona, has to say.
—————

John,

I wanted to tell you what people have said to me this year since we brought the QBQ! book and its message of personal accountability to our school. It’s strange and interesting how such a little book can make such a big difference in people’s attitude and our school culture.

More than ever, I’ve been complimented on our staff’s positive attitude. Specifically, how we’re getting the job done in a more efficient fashion and how team members are taking ownership for problems that surface at school.

Parents have stated that they enjoy coming to us with issues because not only do we take ownership of their problems but we solve—to the best extent possible—whatever is bothering them in a quick manner. Teachers are more willing to say, “I’m sorry that happened—let’s work on fixing it.” No longer do parents hear: “Well, I’d like to help you, but my hands are tied!” or “Don’t tell me about this, tell the District Office since it was their idea!”

I won’t say everything is perfect because it’s not, but things are a lot better as the staff takes more and more ownership of what happens in their classroom and on campus. Staff members are happier and our “naysayers” seem to not be saying so much anymore.

Not long after school started this year, a staff member came to me with numerous complaints like, “I have too many kids in my class and I want some removed!” and “I can’t possibly do everything the district is expecting me to do!” Several other negative statements were made as I tried my best to hold a productive conversation with her. At one point during our discussion, I just couldn’t seem to help myself, so I quoted the QBQ! book to her. As respectfully and gently as possible, I simply said, “Believe or leave.”

She left my office very upset that afternoon. The next day, though, after engaging in some “self reflection” (her words), she returned to say she’d thought about my statement as well as a sign I have hanging in my office—a favorite of mine for many years—that says, “If it is to be it is up to me!” She then said, “I think I am the problem.”

Ever since that day her attitude has been excellent and she is a leader on campus.

Once again, thank you for QBQ!

Jim K.
—————

Thanks, Jim! Everybody knows that in the field of education it’s all about the children. So when we “big people” begin to practice personal accountability and ownership, not only does it make us outstanding, it sets the perfect example for the kids.

And what a great way to spend our day!

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

Please forward this link to colleagues, customers, friends, and family. You may also print this QuickNote.

The Power of Perspective

by John G. Miller
The QBQ! Guy
Twitter: @QBQGUY
Facebook : THEQBQ
LinkedIN

I don’t know about you, but from what I hear and read, people don’t seem very happy nowadays. The economy is struggling, lots of folks are out of work, the stock market is dropping, and consumer confidence is in the tank. A brand new poll shows that 89% of Americans are unsatisfied with the way things are going in the United States. Meanwhile, our political “leaders” can only seem to point fingers at the media, whine about their bad luck, and attack each other.

Maybe it’s those “dog days” of summer. Maybe we’re just cranky. I don’t know.

But I do know this: It’s all about perspective. The truth is, for most of us, things could almost always be worse. The next time I think I’m having a bad day, I’m going to keep the following in mind …

I had just finished a “Personal Accountability and the QBQ!” presentation at a banking institution in central Wisconsin where I’d talked about the dangers of blame, victim thinking, and procrastination when thirtysomething Wally walked up and told me a story. Later that day, he emailed it to me.

A few years ago I was a foreman in a manufacturing plant where I was responsible for nearly thirty workers. One of them, a likable fella who was six months away from retirement named Edward, had worked in the factory his entire life and was looking forward to his “golden years.” I knew that he’d undergone an angioplasty procedure so I wasn’t surprised one day at quitting time when he told me he’d be going to see his heart doctor in the morning.

But then he added, “I’m not feeling quite right.”

The next day I assumed he was at the doctor’s so it was no surprise to me when Edward didn’t show up for work. But I was totally caught off guard when I received a call from my boss informing me that Edward had experienced a heart attack that morning and collapsed on his driveway while shoveling snow.

He never made it to his doctor’s. Nor to his golden years.

Edward was gone.

After my boss and I decided to hold off on a formal announcement till the next morning, I spent the afternoon in a fog, struggling to focus on my work. When my shift finally ended, I took the shortest route from my office to my car, which is through the men’s locker room. There I heard the regular sounds of an entire shift of factory workers hurriedly showering and changing their clothes in an attempt to run to their cars and get home as fast as they could. As I made my way, I overheard a group making comments about how happy they were to be done with their shift. If not for the fact that I was still trying to come to terms with Edward’s passing just six months away from his golden years, the comment that I heard next may not have had such a profound impact on my life—I’ll never know.

One of the guys shouted above the din, “The only good thing about today is that it brings me one day closer to retirement!”

Edward and his family came to mind.

It was at that precise moment in my life that I made the decision to live each day as positively as I can. Life is simply too short to live any other way.
—————-

“I made the decision to live each day as positively as I can”—I don’t believe it can be said any better than that. Certainly, a tragic story for Edward and his family. Yet I thank Wally for sharing it because it helps me put lots of stuff in perspective.

If you’ve been feeling cranky lately, here’s what I suggest:

Just ask The Question Behind the Question (QBQ) – “How can I make the most of today?”

Because we never know what a day will bring.

John G. Miller
The QBQ! Guy
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

Aligning Actions with Values

by John G. Miller
The QBQ! Guy
Twitter: QBQGUY
Facebook
LinkedIN

Ever seen this message? I saw it at a business once.

WE OFFER OUR CUSTOMERS QUALITY, SPEED, PRICE. CHOOSE TWO.

So, your three options are:

• Fast and really good, but it’ll cost you.

• Terrific price and really good, but it’ll take forever.

• In your hands fast at a terrific price, but it’ll be junk.

Nothing like defining and declaring your values in a clear fashion!

Actually, most organizations state their core or guiding values. It used to be done on lobby walls (and maybe it still is, I don’t get out much), but one can find just about any organization’s values on their website.

Like this one:  http://sawandknife.com/

As you can see, we’re not talking about a Fortune 500 firm here, but rather—overused or not, I’ll say it—the “backbone of America.” A small business that gives 43 people a place to go each day to employ their talents, be productive, and make a living. And if you poke around the website of Union Saw & Knife, Inc. of Union Grove, North Carolina, you won’t find a “Values” page, but those values are there, represented by words like “quality,” “efficiency,” “reliable,” “timeliness,” and “long-term relationships.”

Of course, those are just words and we all know that words can ring hollow. As we say in the Outstanding! book, the goal is to “get actions in line with stated values.”

Ed Bissell, founder and owner of Union Saw & Knife, has been receiving our QuickNotes for years. Recently, he sent us this note:

John, I frequently re-read all of your books and find new tidbits each time that help me in our business of manufacturing and servicing cutting tools for the wood, plastic, and metal industry. We’ve worked hard to set benchmarks for the quality and performance of the tools we provide our clients. We’ve always sought long-term customer relationships and have worked hard to serve each one well.

Not long ago, when I visited a customer operation—one we’ve served for several years by managing their tooling and equipment, reaping a major reduction in their tooling costs—I was asked a question I never expected to hear. Our customer stated that he wanted to keep working with us to do his tooling because he feels we’re the best, but went on to say that …

… he was not sure he needed the best and could we do not as good a job for them and charge less?!

I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d heard him right. After working all these years to avoid making bad business moves or doing a disservice to our customers, here was one asking us to do just that! Truly, to purposely lower our quality of product and service would cost us and them more money in the long run. After some discussion, we politely held our ground and still have them as a customer. Our plan is to continue on the path we set for our company many years ago:

The best possible job at the fairest possible price in the shortest amount of time possible.

That’s what we believe in and that’s what we’re going to keep doing for our clients.
—————–

Ed, thanks for not telling your client to “choose two”! Congratulations on having standards that you refuse to bend, and for keeping your actions in line with your stated values. I bet some Fortune 500 firms could learn from your team.

Ed Bissell and his outstanding organization are definitely “backbone of America” material.

Now, if you represent one small department inside a division of some huge organization and think this story doesn’t apply—please think again. Or if the thought came to mind that this message should be forwarded to politicians everywhere, remember this: Practicing espoused values begins with you and me.

So let’s each ask The Question Behind the Question (QBQ!):

“What action will I take today that is in line with my organization’s declared values?”

Now that’s PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY.

Note: Outstanding! is a TEAM STUDY book. Grab a carton of 12 here (http://tinyurl.com/5u2erqa) and we’ll email you exceptional discussion questions to generate true team learning.

John G. Miller
The QBQ! Guy
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

Trail of Impact

by John G. Miller
The QBQ! Guy
Twitter: QBQGUY
Facebook
LinkedIN

I’m not very impressed with titles anymore. I used to be. Coming out of college in 1980 and working for the large firm, Cargill, getting that “branch manager” title meant everything. Then, as a young salesperson selling management training, it was scarier to call on a CEO or an SVP than a director or a sales manager. But most of this has worn off—and for the right reason:

Titles don’t leave the legacy. People do.

And since “legacy” is a pretty heavy word, how about this: Trail of Impact. Each of us, every day, has a chance to impact others through our words and our actions. Just in the past few days, I’ve had these random opportunities to leave a positive trail as I interacted with:

• The Lowe’s Home Improvement guy, working hard on Saturday to install our new dishwasher.
• A confused caller who mistakenly dialed our land line twice looking to buy a car we didn’t have for sale.
• My wife, Karen, asking for help on a home project that I didn’t know was on our agenda that day!
• The flight attendant roaming the aisle during a five hour flight, inquiring, “Coffee, anyone?” as most passengers failed to acknowledge her at all.
• The hotel trainee who took almost 20 minutes to check me in after that tiring five hour cross-country trip!
• My colleague and daughter, Kristin, as we spent a full day working on—and sometimes disagreeing about—a “QBQ! for Schools” classroom curriculum. (More on this new product soon—promise!)

In these various moments with a variety of people, I had a choice to speak and act positively or negatively. In that time—and in my wake—a trail develops; a Trail of Impact.

Now, in an everyday way, I should strive in all moments to create a positive trail simply because it’s the right thing to do. But, I must admit, I’ve always been intensely intrigued by “vendor-customer” moments. As we say in Outstanding! 47 Ways to Make Your Organization Exceptional, it’s critical that we “never forget who pays the bills.”

From Mitch of Husqvarna Construction Products, a reader of Outstanding!, comes this story:

John, I just had two bad travel weeks trying to get home on Fridays. Stranded by one airline the first week in Chicago, I had to buy a ticket on a different airline to get back to my family. The following Friday afternoon, after a complete fiasco with late flights and airline employees who did not care, we finally boarded the plane. Ahh, going home at last! I thought. As we were being told to raise our seat backs and tray tables, one passenger behind me was talking to her seat mate and didn’t hear the instruction. Suddenly, a flight attendant loudly shouted at this customer, “I said put your seat back up!!!” Everyone within earshot seemed stunned. Fed up with lousy service in general, I stood up and said in my most commanding voice, “Excuse me!!!” I now had the attention of everyone within fifteen rows—including the just lectured passenger and the flight attendant. I turned to the woman who had been chastised and stated with a smile, “Welcome on board today and have a nice flight.” Two seconds later the cabin filled with applause. Sitting down, I did my best to ignore some pretty nasty looks from the flight attendant.

By then, I was convinced that all airlines are alike and outstanding service doesn’t exist anymore. Soon after, I boarded a flight expecting more of the same—but I was pleasantly surprised. The flight attendant, Christi, went above and beyond. Once in the air, after the regular delivery of pretzels and drinks (all you wanted, with no rationing), I assumed she’d take her seat to read a magazine. Instead, she joyfully traveled the aisle offering copies of puzzles and word games that she had obviously prepared before the flight. Clearly, she felt personally accountable for her guests’ satisfaction on her plane. I told Christi that she was outstanding, a breath of fresh air, and the best flight attendant I’d seen in a long time. The next day I wrote a letter of praise to the airline.

As you write in Outstanding!, it’s true: Customers can fire the organizations they do business with, just as they can “re-hire”—over and over—the ones they prefer. I have every intention to fly Christi’s airline whenever I can!
——–

Mitch’s story speaks to the power of personal accountability. It shows what can happen when we take ownership for our customer’s perception of our organization. Remember, it’s not about titles—it’s about you and me deciding what kind of Trail of Impact we wish to leave behind.

Let’s each ask The Question Behind the Question (QBQ!): “What action can I take today to create a positive trail of impact?”

Now that is an outstanding question.

Note: Outstanding! is a TEAM DISCUSSION book. Grab a carton of 12 here (http://tinyurl.com/5u2erqa) and we’ll email you exceptional discussion questions to generate true team learning.

John G. Miller
The QBQ! Guy
Author

http://poll.pollcode.com/hVyc

Just for fun!

John G. Miller

Outstanding Holidays Don’t Just Happen

The holidays.

A season all about Family, Faith, and Friends. For many, it’s also a time of Food, Football, Festivities, Fun—and Freedom. Not just the blessing of living in a “free country,” but also maybe—just maybe—a little less tied to our jobs and a little more sleeping, puttering, and simply doing nothing on some days! Sounds great, doesn’t it?

But how about these words? Frenetic—a crazy, stress-filled pace. Finances—jubilant joy leads to dangerous debt. Frustration—things don’t quite go the way we planned. Fear—of being alone, left out. Fatigue—we simply do too much and return in January needing the month just to recover!

The reality is this: The holidays, for lots of people, just aren’t what they’re cracked up to be. Though we want them to stand out—that is, to be outstanding—they often fall short of our expectations. But, with some work, some discipline, and some adherence to fundamental ideas and principles, we can each experience an exceptional season.

By extracting concepts from the book Outstanding!—yes, written for the world of corporations, nonprofits, government entities, churches and schools—and applying them to this time of year, we can make the best of the holidays. And since most holiday celebrations involve families—which are organizations—let’s utilize the essences of nine of the 47 Outstanding! chapters to create a stellar season!

Choose to Change: Holiday traditions are great, but remember: Any strength taken to an extreme becomes a weakness. Outstanding families, like outstanding organizations, are willing to set aside “the way we’ve always done things” now and then. Keeping the end goals of joy, fun, and celebration in mind, we might need do things differently. Never forget: Blessed are the flexible, for they cause others to not get bent out of shape!

Keep the Mission Top of Mind: If you believe the “reason for the season” is faith (worshiping God and being thankful) and/or family (traditions and coming together) then don’t forget the “Why” behind the activities. Let purpose come before tasks, otherwise, the tasks can overwhelm the mission—and what’s the sense in that?

Get Actions In Line With Values: If we espouse values like love, caring, and acceptance, let’s ensure that our behaviors support those ideas. Integrity—actions in line with stated values—is a rare commodity in our world, so let’s allow that light to shine at home. Example: If we embrace the word “humility,” let’s avoid boasting, bragging, and topping each other in our interactions. Another: If I say I believe in relaxing and resting, then draw a few boundaries and say NO! if you really want to. It’s okay to not participate in some activities this time of year.

Fight the Fat: And we’re not talking about calories here! As Dave Ramsey says, when it comes to finances, “Bother to bother.” In other words, decide to stay on top of and in control of the dollars. By cutting up the plastic money and living within our means, we’ll experience a far more joyous … January!

Forgive Mistakes: What could be a more perfect way to achieve outstanding holidays than to let some stuff slide? Humans sometimes do say the wrong thing, make mistakes, exercise poor judgment, drop the ball, and forget to act. When these things happen, it’s an amazing opportunity to choose forgiveness. Practice the words, “No big deal. Let’s forget it.”

Let Every Player Count: A little lifting up of each person is a good thing. Careful that one individual’s needs and agenda don’t “rule the roost.” Let’s do our best to help each person—from 2 to 92—feel special. It’s a time to honor everyone on the team!

Speak Well: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1) So true! As the tension and stress build, make sure that the way we talk to others—both our words and tone—is encouraging, loving, and supportive.

Listen In All Directions: In Outstanding! we write about listening in three ways: Management listening to the people, the people listening to each other, and everyone listening to the customer. My favorite part is where we take “multi-tasking” to task as a very bad habit. During these precious days, let’s set the iPods, laptops, and PDAs aside—cease the Tweeting, status updating, and surfing—and look each other in the eye, saying, “Go ahead, you are the most important person in my world at this moment and I want to hear every word you have to say.”

Someone Needs to Be the Boss: Lastly, parents, I beseech you—please parent! Family gatherings are hurt when the wrong people are in charge: the children. Let’s hold our kids to a new (yet old fashioned) level of respect, manners, and courtesy. The truth is, it’s not all about the children—and sometimes they need to know that. If your young child needs a really long “time out,” then take action. Don’t be afraid to let him or her know that—surprise, surprise!—you are the boss.

So there they are: Nine ways to have an outstanding holiday season. Share this with others—apply them yourself—and see what a difference they can make. And then come back in 2011 ready to make our organizations outstanding, too!

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

Twitter: QBQGUY
Facebook

“Succeed with What You Have”

Maybe because of our immeasurable, countless, and unending blessings, most of us are so protected from the pain of doing without, that we end up complaining more about what we don’t have than being thankful for what we do have. In our chapter story, here was an employee essentially saying, I’m glad to be gainfully employed and I will smile at every customer who comes my way because I know they pay the bills.

And I won’t whine about what I lack!

No organization is perfect, and few have everything people working there feel they need. Of course, there are times to speak up to express a need for this tool or that resource, and management should do everything it can to provide people with the very best tools available. But as individuals, focusing on what we don’t have rather than on what we can accomplish with what we do have is a waste of time and energy. In the end, outstanding organizations and their people get the job done with the tools and resources they’ve been given.

John G. Miller

Author of “QBQ!”® “Flipping the Switch” “Outstanding!”

www.OutstandingOrganization.com and www.QBQ.com

Twitter: QBQGUY Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/theqbq

3 John G. Miller/Dave Ramsey interviews:

http://qbq.com/dave-ramsey-outstanding-video.php

http://qbq.com/dave-ramsey-interview-video2.php

http://qbq.com/dave-ramsey-interview-video.php

I asked Molly, our twentysomething daughter, who loves soccer and basketball and has served as captain in both sports, “Molly, in your opinion, what makes an effective team?” I was honestly just curious what she’d say; it wasn’t like I was doing serious research for a book or anything! But I loved her answer: “Everyone taking care of their own stuff, Dad. Everybody working hard at doing their job . . .”

That’s exactly what happens in outstanding organizations. People do their jobs. They work—diligently. I didn’t say they get their life out of balance. I believe in balance and taking breaks and recharging. I didn’t say people should shortchange their family in some way. Family is critical. And I didn’t say people should become obsessed 24/7 with their jobs, either. But I do say this: In outstanding organizations a solid work ethic is alive and well. People care, contribute, and combine talent and skills with old-fashioned “elbow grease” to get the job done. In lesser organizations, that’s not always the case.

There’s a phenomenon we all know about called “entitlement thinking.” People inflicted with this condition have one mantra—I deserve! Outstanding organizations work hard to make hard work a cornerstone of their culture and keep entitlement at bay. “I deserve!” thinking can look like this:

• A supervisor who felt strongly that the content of a particular book would help each person in his group learn and grow professionally and personally, happily gave one to each of his reports. Everyone was excited! Later, one employee returned to ask, “If I read this book at home on my own time, will I get paid for that hour?”

• An industrial complex was locked down for safety reasons from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. There was a deadly threat occurring and management wanted all employees to be secure. People’s lives were their first concern. One week later, an employee submitted a request to be paid for the lunch hour he missed.

• A dozen manufacturing plant supervisors were being trained as facilitators of a training process. They were engaging in a full-day session with no minutes to spare. Lots to do! At 9 a.m., the trainer broke them into three teams of four to do group work in breakout rooms—but nobody went to their breakout room. At 9:05, the trainer located all twelve in the cafeteria eating. When asked what they were doing, one said, “Hey, rules are rules. It was time for our break.”

All of these examples speak to the entitlement mentality that chips away at an organization’s work ethic.

My daughter, Kristin—now a colleague of mine who loves working with audiences, too—and I were speaking in Washington, D.C., a block from the White House. So we did the tourist thing the night before our sessions, and together experienced a moment when someone clearly had the right attitude. I’ll let Kristin tell the story:

Getting hungry, we decided to grab some dinner, but most eateries in a nearby food court had already closed. Luckily, we found a Quiznos sandwich shop still open and placed our order a minute or two before the 7:30 closing time with Maria, a woman of about twenty who looked like she’d had a very long day. As we stood back and waited for our sandwiches, a stately, well-dressed, elderly couple approached the counter and started reading the menu. The clock on the wall now read 7:32. The Quiznos employees—including Maria—had started cleaning up for the night. Meanwhile, I felt my own discomfort as the couple stood at the counter, quietly perusing the menu. I so badly wanted to stop them from ordering. “Nooooo! They’re closed! See the clock? Let Maria go home! She’s tired!” As the time ticked to 7:35, though, the couple stepped forward. Maria happened to turn around right then and noticed them. The couple stood waiting expectantly, and I awaited a confrontation: the inevitable showdown between the employee saying, “Sorry, we’re closed” and the customers pleading, “It’s only a few minutes past. Can’t you make just two more sandwiches?” It never happened. Maria stepped up to the register and even though I saw her peek at the clock, she said, smiling, “Can I help you?” Well, apparently she’s no slacker. Some people say the young people of today don’t know what it means to work, but I say not true! Maria is evidence of that.

Thankfully, Maria cared enough about her responsibilities and her customers to do the right thing at the right time. Let’s each of us do the same. Again, it’s about everybody working hard, doing their job. It really does come down to having a good work ethic, and no organization can be outstanding without it.

Let’s work!

[Excerpted from Outstanding! - Chapter 22]

Explore our Personal Accountability training program!

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

Twitter: QBQGUY
Facebook

Be Outstanding! show: Download all of them here … http://outstandingorganization.com/podcasts/

John, I love when I get to write about how someone is doing so well at a job! I like telling you about it because you get it! I called the Inverness Hotel after hours the other day to make some reservations, and encountered the voice mail of Chris Curley, Reservation Representative. Besides being one of the most cheerful messages I have ever heard, it just made me think I was in great hands! (John, you should call 303-397-6400 after 7 PM and listen to Chris!) The next morning Chris called me bright and early and showed me the kind of service and compassion that left me believing that the Inverness Hotel really wanted my business! He was helpful, delightful to speak with, and understands that his customers are important. This young man is going places! If all of the hotel’s employees are like Chris, we should all stay there as often as we are able!

What made this even more remarkable is that I was using a gift certificate that I had purchased at a nonprofit’s auction. Sometimes there is trouble at some hotels when you mention this. The hotel seems like they do not want to honor a certificate or has some other restrictions that often makes you feel like it is just not worth it to have even purchased it. But this was not the case at all with Chris, he made me feel like I was the most important person he had ever spoken with on the phone. He booked me in a “deluxe” room! Thought you might enjoy hearing some good stuff! Brad

Learn more about Brad and The Mission in Chapter 3 of “Outstanding!” His chapter is titled “Keep the Mission Top of Mind”! John G. Miller Author John@QBQ.com