QBQ Reward understanding what do you think??

Rewarding Outstanding!
by John G. Miller
The QBQ! Guy
Twitter: QBQGUY
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Karen and I—and a bunch of kids, all ours—lugged a couple weeks' worth of groceries into the house, plopped them onto the kitchen floor, and immediately did ... nothing. Feeling a tad weary from a morning of shopping, Karen disappeared into her office while I turned on the ball game. And for the next short while, the groceries sat.

Or so we thought.
A half hour later, Tasha, our 12-year-old, came to me saying she'd put all the groceries away. All of them. All by herself. All without being asked or told.
I was pleasantly surprised, of course, and after thanking her, I said, "Tasha, you've just earned 3 QBQ! Points!" She smiled.

Since the QBQ!, Flipping the Switch, and Outstanding! books are all about avoiding blame, whining, victim thinking, complaining, and procrastination, we've created a family system of rewarding the kids with QBQ! Points when they practice personal accountability and do outstanding things. The system has some loose rules:

• Points are granted only if they're earned. No entitlement or government give-away program here.
• Points are given out randomly, that is, not every time accountability is demonstrated.
• Points are given out only by Mom and Dad.
• Points actually count for something.

Regarding that last guideline, once a child has earned 25 QBQ! Points, we take them to Barnes & Noble or Borders to buy them a book. Or we swing through the Dairy Queen drive-thru. (Of course, since they're too young to drive, the behind-the-wheel parent always gets a treat, too!)

Since 1983, when Miller Child Numero Uno, Kristin, was born, we have been building children. Seven total. And we've tried lots of ways to reward them. Charts with stickers, cash commissions, and verbal praise. All worthy. But I like QBQ! Points because not only does the system teach values such as accountability and work ethic, but more often than not the kids seem surprised when they get them. This means they're learning that personal accountability can simply be part of one's life; a better way of living; the right thing to do.

And here's the real value:
When kids learn to be outstanding through personal accountability today, they become the hardworking, productive, non-entitled adults organizations need tomorrow. And their reward will be a deep personal satisfaction that comes from serving humankind and contributing to the lives of others.
And maybe a $20 gift card.

Here's a quick story from Dan, in State College, Pennsylvania, that we might say is all about winning "QBQ! Points" in the workplace:

John, Ted McDowell, regional president of AmeriServ Financial Bank, recently told me about a program they execute. Here's how it works:

Ted purchases a supply of $20 gift cards from Sheetz, an Altoona, Pennsylvania based chain with hundreds of convenience store locations. He then arms his bank account reps with the cards. As each rep calls on their business clients, if they witness a display of outstanding customer service anywhere, they can approach the person who delivered the “above and beyond service” to give them a Sheetz gift card—compliments of AmeriServ Bank. During the gift-giving encounter, the AmeriServ rep asks the person for the name of their boss. Ted then sends a letter of recognition to the card recipient's manager informing him or her of the employee's outstanding action. It's a way for Ted's firm to recognize and encourage outstanding customer service and it speaks to AmeriServ’s belief that customer service matters.
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What a simple example of how one organization has decided to "reward outstanding" in the marketplace. Though we don't practice personal accountability and outstanding service to be rewarded, rewarding people is certainly an excellent thing to do. Whether it's with our children at home or adults in the marketplace, let's each see what we can do in this arena by asking The Question Behind the Question (QBQ!):

"What can I do today to reward outstanding behavior in others?"