The QBQ! Podcast
Looking to take your business to the next level, boost sales and productivity, or raise confident, capable kids? You’re in the right place. The secret? It’s the QBQ.
If you haven’t yet discovered the bestselling book QBQ! The Question Behind the Question, it’s time to check it out. This powerful concept is transforming how people lead, live, and grow—by focusing on one foundational principle: personal accountability.
In every episode, your hosts Kristin and John explore how taking ownership—at work, at home, and in life—can unlock real, lasting success. It’s not about blaming, complaining, or waiting. It’s about asking better questions and choosing responsibility.
Personal accountability—it’s really that simple.
Episodes
24 episodes
Stop Speaking in Code: What Outstanding! Organizations Do Differently
What do outstanding organizations actually do differently?In this episode of The QBQ! Podcast, I’m joined by my dad, John, as we talk about the books beyond QBQ!—including Flipping the Switch, I Own It!, Ra...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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16:52
From Micromanaging to Leading: The Power of Better Questions
In this episode of the QBQ! Podcast, I’m joined by Laura Train, founder of Integrity Training Solutions and a longtime QBQ practitioner and distributor. Laura first encountered QBQ! while working at the Social Security Administration, and she s...
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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28:39
Raising an Accountable Generation: What It Takes to Raise Ownership at Every Age
Part 2 of a conversation with the Coast to Coast Camps leadership team, this episode turns the focus to parenting, modeling, and what it really takes to raise an accountable generation.From foster care to grandparenting, from todd...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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26:55
When Every Problem Points to You: From Bottleneck to Breakthrough
When Every Problem Points to YouFrom Bottleneck to BreakthroughWhat do you do when every problem seems to land on you?In this episode of the QBQ! Podcast, I’m joined by the leadership team ...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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20:41
You Can’t Hold People Accountable (And Why That’s Good News for Leaders)
“I still have to hold my people accountable.”Managers say this all the time—and it’s a fair question.In this short, one-off episode of the QBQ! Podcast, Kristin Lindeen clarifies the difference between personal accounta...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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6:22
Great Hospitality Starts with Better Questions: The QBQ Approach to Restaurant Leadership and Accountability
Why Great Hospitality Starts with Better Questions The QBQ Approach to Restaurant Leadership and AccountabilityIn the restaurant world, it’s easy to spend your days reacting—putting out fires, fixing mistakes, and won...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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24:21
Why the Questions We Ask Matter (with Charles Alexander): A featured conversation from the Do More By Doing Less podcast
This week, we’re sharing a conversation from the Do More By Doing Less podcast, hosted by Charles Alexander.Charles recently sat down with my dad, John G. Miller, author of QBQ! The Question Behind the Question, for a t...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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17:48
Careers Aren't Straight Lines: Taking Ownership from Customer Service to Operational Excellence
In this episode, Kristin talks with Cindy Darnell of Element about how personal accountability shapes everything from team dynamics and customer service to parenting and career growth. Cindy shares how QBQ helped her move from blame to ownershi...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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23:06
Letting Go and Letting Be: A Peaceful Holiday Season
Kristin shares seven simple “let” ideas—let go, let loose, let others, let up, let in, let be, and let me—to help create a calmer, more joyful holiday season. A quick QBQ reminder to pause and ask: What can I do to bring more joy to the peo...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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6:12
The Story of QBQ! – Part 5: The Shaping of the QBQ! book with David Levin
In Part 5 of The Story of QBQ! series, Kristin talks with David Levin — the creative partner who helped shape the QBQ! book we all know today. Together they revisit how it all came together, from cassette tapes to a timeless m...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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22:38
Accountability in Sales: Kristin Lindeen on the Awesome Impact Podcast
QBQ! goes B2B! Kristin joins John DiMare on The Awesome Impact B2B Sales Podcast to unpack how The Question Behind the Question® empowers sales leaders to stop blaming, start owning, and lead with action. Hear how accountabili...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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33:31
Accountability Isn’t a Policy—It’s Personal.
When HR leads with accountability, everyone wins.How Liberty Hospital’s HR leader turned one simple book into a movement of personal accountability.Liberty Hospital’s VP of HR, Thomas Murphy, joins Kristin Linde...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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26:30
We Don't Leave Companies, We Leave Managers: Becoming an Outstanding Manager with QBQ!
Managers shape culture more than any perk or policy. In this episode, John G. Miller and Kristin Lindeen explore why people often leave managers—not companies—and how personal accountability, humility, and the lessons from Outstanding!...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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14:53
Believe or Leave: Building a Performance Culture with CRO Steve Chamberlin
What happens when entitlement and blame meet a culture of accountability? In this episode of the QBQ! Podcast, Kristin Lindeen sits down with Steve Chamberlin, Chief Revenue Officer of Momentum Textiles and Wallcovering, to explore how QBQ has ...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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20:05
Walking Our Talk: Marriage, Parenting, and QBQ in Real Life
It’s easy to teach accountability—but much harder to live it at home. Kristin and her husband Erik share real stories of marriage, parenting, and the messy, funny, humbling moments of practicing what they preach with QBQ.
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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22:44
Stop Trying to Fix Your Spouse (or Your Boss)
What’s the #1 takeaway from QBQ? According to creator John G. Miller, it’s simple: I can only change me. In this episode, John and Kristin unpack how that truth transforms marriages, parenting, and workplaces alike. From co...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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14:03
Leading with Accountability: Vortex Optics’ CEO Joe Hamilton on the QBQ! Mindset
Kristin talks with Joe Hamilton, CEO and President of Vortex Optics, about building a thriving family business through consistency, service, and personal accountability. Joe shares Vortex’s journey from a small trade show tent to the world’s la...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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27:32
Kill the ‘We’: Why Accountability Is Always Personal
Why “we” dilutes accountability. Kristin explains why QBQ is always about the “I”—and how shifting your questions can drive real personal accountability. At QBQ, Inc., we've spent over two decades helping teams and individuals understand the po...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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2:46
How We Do QBQ! Today: Building Cultures on Personal Accountability
In this episode, Kristin and her dad, John, pull back the curtain on how QBQ! operates today—from selling books and licensing training to delivering powerful keynotes and workshops. They reflect on what makes QBQ successful in organizations lon...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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13:19
The Story of QBQ! – Part 4: How the QBQ Spread
In this episode, John and Kristin pick up where Part 3 left off—sharing what happened after the first QBQ book hit the shelves. Hear how one self-published book titled Personal Accountability evolved into multiple editions of ...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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11:29
The Story of QBQ! Part 3: The Leap that Launched QBQ!
“Where did QBQ come from?”It all started with 10,000 hours — hours spent listening to managers, leading workshops, and asking: “What’s the better question?” From the back of training rooms to a moment on a tr...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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15:17
The Story of QBQ! Part 2: If You Don't Like Your Life, Change It!
What happens when one bold piece of advice changes everything?In Part 2 of the Story of QBQ! series, we dive into the pivotal moment when a friend challenged John Miller with seven powerful words: "If you don't like your life...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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13:43
The Story of QBQ! Part 1: Before the QBQ--The Early Life of John G. Miller
In this episode, we take a step back in time to explore the early life and beginnings of John G. Miller — long before he became the author of QBQ! and a leading voice on personal accountability. From growing up in a large fami...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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15:49