John G. Miller

John Miller was born in 1958 in Ithaca, N.Y. His dad, Jimmy Miller, was the Cornell University wrestling coach and a small-town pastor. This is probably why John finds it so natural to coach and teach!

At 18, John asked 16-year-old Karen on a date, and they married in June 1980. After being hired by Cargill off the Cornell U. campus to be a “grain trader,” John and Karen lived in three states for five years, finally settling in Minneapolis, MN. In early 1986, John began a new career providing leadership and sales management training to Twin Cities’ corporations from all industries.

This is how and when John created QBQ! The Question Behind the Question. Throughout a decade of selling and facilitating training for executives and managers, he discovered the incredible need for personal accountability. In 1995, he chose to become a keynote speaker, titling his sessions “Personal Accountability and the QBQ!”—even though some people told him that “personal accountability isn’t a topic.”

John’s speaking career took off, and he began writing books, gaining the new title of “author.” In late 1997, the Millers left Minnesota for Denver, Colorado. They have seven “Millennial” children—six girls and one son. As John likes to say, they achieved four “the homemade way” and in 2000 gained three through adoption. They now have 14 grandchildren! John and Karen have recently written Raising Accountable Kids. John also served five years on the Board of Directors of the Denver Rescue Mission.