Transformational Income: Mind Your Ps and Qs

When I was a kid, we children were told on occasion – usually special occasions – to mind our Ps and Qs. When I was younger, I thought those initials referred to peas and carrots and I could see the sense of minding the Ps. Peas were sneaky little dickens and would roll off your fork and scatter to the four winds. You had to watch them carefully. But carrots were staid and square. They would squat there on the plate, just waiting for you to stab them to the heart or scoop them up and gulp them down.

Later, when I was in school and learning to write cursive, I deduced that the Ps and Qs that we were told to mind had a completely different meaning. They were the actual letters P and Q which, when written without caps, were so similar that you had to be careful when you wrote them. I could see the sense, then, of being told to mind my Ps and Qs.

There are distinctions of behavior that can be confusing to children; things that we could do in the privacy of our own homes that were not acceptable behavior in public – especially on special occasions. I suppose it would have been easier for us children to behave on those special occasions if our parents had just taught us one standard of behavior.

But having been a parent myself, I now understand why my parents didn’t enforce one standard. There were times, many times, when I was just grateful that my own children behaved relatively well in public (This was particularly important as they were Pks – Preacher’s kids); I was perfectly willing to accept lesser standards at home.

We are no longer children, you and I. We are expected to behave in certain generally accepted ways. Napoleon Hill, in his classic, Think and Grow Rich, refers not to Ps and Qs but to Qs, Qs, and Ss.

A reminder: we are all selling something, whether it be our product, our services, or ourselves. The QUALITY and the QUANTITY of the product, service or our effort, and the SPIRIT in which it is rendered determine to a large extent our success as a salesperson, employee, or leader. To sell these things effectively (which means a permanent market or employment, at a satisfactory price or wage, under pleasant conditions, we must adopt and follow the “QQS” formula. But here’s the kicker. Because we are adults and no longer children, we are expected to follow this formula not just on special occasions, but AS A HABIT.

What does the QQS formula mean? To put it in Napoleon Hill’s words:

1.QUALITY of service shall be construed to mean the performance of every detail, in connection with your position, in the most efficient, in the most efficient manner possible, with the object of greater efficiency always in mind.

2.QUALITY of service shall be understood to mean the HABIT of rendering all the service of which you are capable, at all times, with the purpose of increasing the amount of service rendered as greater skill is developed through practice and experience. Emphasis is again placed on the word HABIT.

3.SPIRIT of service shall be construed to mean the HABIT of agreeable, harmonious conduct which will induce cooperation from associates and fellow employees.”

Hill is, of course, referring to the selling of services – the seeking of employment – but we can extrapolate to the sell of merchandise or the “selling” of ourselves.

In terms of merchandise, QUALITY means exactly what it says. Our product should be of good workmanship and real and lasting value to the buyer. QUANTITY means that we should not skimp. In fact, it is a good idea to give MORE than is expected; then your pleased (and surprised) customers will come back to buy more or different products. SPIRIT is something that is often lacking in the marketplace. Our behavior should be agreeable and harmonious: prompt, polite service will induce your customer to buy and to return to buy more.

But what does the “QQS” formula mean in terms of “selling” ourselves? First and foremost, it means honesty and integrity. Of course, that requires knowing ourselves – who we are, what we want, why we do what we do – and it requires a degree of self-esteem and positive thinking. That’s the QUALITY aspect of the formula.

QUANTITY demands a degree of mindfulness. We are present with the people around us, whether they be family, friends, co-workers, colleagues, customers, or members (or perspective members) of our internet marketing “list”. In person-to-person encounters, we give the person in front of us our full attention. In long-distance encounters, we give them more than they might expect: we give them value.

SPIRIT means that we endeavor to make all of our encounters pleasant and harmonious.

Hill warns, “Adequacy of QUALITY and QUANTITY of service is not sufficient to maintain a permanent market for your services. The conduct, or the SPIRIT in which you deliver service is a strong determining in connection with both the price you receive and the duration of employment.

Hill stresses pleasing personality because, he says, it is a factor which enables us to give service or value in the proper SPIRIT.

“If one has a personality which PLEASES, and renders service in a spirit of HARMONY, these assets often make up for deficiencies in both the QUALITY and the QUANTITY of service one renders. Nothing, however, can be SUCCESSFULLY SUBSTITUTED FOR PLEASING CONDUCT.”

So, mind your Ps and Qs – or your QQSs.