- Paperback: 192 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins; (Reissue) edition (6 Feb 1995)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0006379540
- ISBN-13: 978-0006379546
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 1.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 752,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
As a specialist in creativity, Edward de Bono - whose instruction has been sought by corporations such as IBM, DuPont, and Ford, and by the governments of the US, Brazil, and Singapore - here identifies a simple "six shoes" approach to taking control of situations. The author lays out the events and actions associated with each of the six types of "shoes", and explains that while someone may naturally be better at responding in one particular mode - say taking emergency action ("orange gumboots") rather than accumulating information ("grey sneakers") - the truly successful person will master all six action modes and learn to tailor his or her actions to the situations at hand. The author has previously written "Lateral Thinking" and "Six Thinking Hats".
From the Back Cover
'WALK THE TALK' WITH SIX ACTION SHOES
Most situations in business and in life are ambiguous and confusing – and confusing is the enemy of action. The brilliant yet amazing simple 'six shoes' framework breaks action down into six distinct modes and helps you to identify different situations, take control of them and respond in the most effective way possible. Whether you need to follow routines, react quickly, respond sensitively, bash through obstacles, get information or take charge, there is a shoe and an action to guide you:
• Navy Formal Shoes – When action should follow set routines
• Orange Gumboots – For crisis and emergencies
• Pink Slippers – When action should be directed to human values such as caring and helping
• Brown Brogues – When action should be entrepreneurial and flexible
• Grey Sneakers – For investigation and the collection of information
• Purple Riding Boots – For acting out an authority role
Written by the world-renowned expert on creative thinking and author of the best-selling 'Six Thinking Hats' and 'Tactics, Six Action Shoes' provides a brilliant method of taking control of any business or life situation. No one can be 'perfect' in all situations, but everyone can gain from an understanding of the six action modes and how to use them.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Sometimes it seems quite difficult to know how to act in certain situations. Sometimes we always behave in the same way without any consideration as to how the people around us will perceive that behaviour and how they will respond.
Reading Six Action Shoes will not instantly change the way that you behave, but will make you more conscious of your behaviour and that of the people around you.
Six different modes of action are characterised by six different colours and types of shoes (e.g. navy formal shoes when actions should follow formal set routines, pink slippers for when actions should be directed towards human values).
Each type of shoe is discussed in a separate section, with each section consisting of a number of short (one or two page) chapters. The structure of the book makes it ideal for reading in short bursts, allowing time to think about what has been read before picking it up again.
It is disappointing to note that a book by such a distinguished author, published by a publishing house such as Harper Collins should contain as many typographical errors as this one does. In his notes at the beginning of the book, Dr. de Bono tells how the whole book was written, using a Psion mobile computer, on aeroplane journey from London to Auckland. There is a commentary in the text that gives progress on the journey. It seems that no one bothered to proof read the text after typesetting. It is not surprising that most of the errors are seen towards the end of the book.
Despite the typesetting errors, Six Action Shoes is well worth the two and a half hours it takes to read. This is a book that I will definitely read again.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I presume to suggest that you read this book after you read de Bono's Six Thinking Hats and strongly urge you to read both. He invented the word "operacy" which he defines as "the skill of action....This book has very much to do with operacy. The framework of the six action shoes is a help both in the training of action skills and also in the use of those skills at the moment of action."
In Chapter Six, de bono introduces the "six action action shoes": Navy formal shoes, Grey sneakers, Brown brogues, Orange gunboots, Pink slippers, and Purple riding boots. The shoes colors are everyday colors "that suggest the nature of the action mode they indicate. The physical nature of the shoes also suggests the nature of the action made."
What's all this about? De Bono uses the colors and styles of the six shoes as mechanisms by which to explain and then illustrate his concept of "operacy." He asserts (and I agree) that quite specific skills are needed to take effective action. The nature of each action is obviously determined by what would be most appropriate in a given situation. For example, Navy formal shoes are needed when routines and procedures are involved whereas Pink slippers are needed in a situation which requires care, compassion,, and attention to human feelings and sensitivities.
This is a thoughtful and lucid book, as one would expect from Edward de Bono. If you find it to be as thought-provoking and practical as I have, you should also check out his Lateral Thinking and De Bono's Thinking Course as well as the works of Guy Claxton, Michael Michalko, Joey Reiman, and Roger von Oech.
.
In Chapter Six, de bono introduces the "six action action shoes": Navy formal shoes, Grey sneakers, Brown brogues, Orange gunboots, Pink slippers, and Purple riding boots. The shoes colors are everyday colors "that suggest the nature of the action mode they indicate. The physical nature of the shoes also suggests the nature of the action made."
What's all this about? De Bono uses the colors and styles of the six shoes as mechanisms by which to explain and then illustrate his concept of "operacy." He asserts (and I agree) that quite specific skills are needed to take effective action. The nature of each action is obviously determined by what would be most appropriate in a given situation. For example, Navy formal shoes are needed when routines and procedures are involved whereas Pink slippers are needed in a situation which requires care, compassion,, and attention to human feelings and sensitivities.
This is a thoughtful and lucid book, as one would expect from Edward de Bono. If you find it to be as thought-provoking and practical as I have, you should also check out his Lateral Thinking and De Bono's Thinking Course as well as the works of Guy Claxton, Michael Michalko, Joey Reiman, and Roger von Oech.
.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
A Shoe for Every Action
8 May 2000
Format:Hardcover
I presume to suggest that you read this book after you read de Bono's Six Thinking Hats and strongly urge you to read both. He invented the word "operacy" which he defines as "the skill of action....This book has very much to do with operacy. The framework of the six action shoes is a help both in the training of action skills and also in the use of those skills at the moment of action."
In Chapter Six, de bono introduces the "six action action shoes": Navy formal shoes, Grey sneakers, Brown brogues, Orange gunboots, Pink slippers, and Purple riding boots. The shoes colors are everyday colors "that suggest the nature of the action mode they indicate. The physical nature of the shoes also suggests the nature of the action made."
What's all this about? De Bono uses the colors and styles of the six shoes as mechanisms by which to explain and then illustrate his concept of "operacy." He asserts (and I agree) that quite specific skills are needed to take effective action. The nature of each action is obviously determined by what would be most appropriate in a given situation. For example, Navy formal shoes are needed when routines and procedures are involved whereas Pink slippers are needed in a situation which requires care, compassion,, and attention to human feelings and sensitivities.
This is a thoughtful and lucid book, as one would expect from Edward de Bono. If you find it to be as thought-provoking and practical as I have, you should also check out his Lateral Thinking and De Bono's Thinking Course as well as the works of Guy Claxton, Michael Michalko, Joey Reiman, and Roger von Oech.
.
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