Six Action Shoes [Hardcover]

Edward de Bono (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1991

A brilliant new way to take control of any business or life situation.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This latest, easy-to-read title from the author of the popular Six Thinking Hats ( LJ 5/15/86) will be of interest to not only business managers but to anyone who is responsible for guiding the actions of others toward the achievement of organizational activities. De Bono classifies organizational activities (as opposed to planning and idea-generation) into six categories, each symbolized by a pair of shoes: navy formal shoes for routines, grey sneakers for information gathering, brown brogues for pragmatic action, orange gumboots for emergencies, pink slippers for caring, and purple riding boots for authoritarian behavior. This artificial characterization of organizational activity is useful because it enables managers to separate action from personality. The author believes that an organizational leader will not only be able to select the appropriate action shoes for him or herself but also direct others in the organization to put on whatever shoes the situation requires. A useful addition to public libraries. See also de Bono's I Am Right--You Are Wrong , reviewed in this issue, p. 174.--Ed.
- Andrea C. Dragon, Coll. of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, N.J.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A gimmicky guide to taking effective action. It's difficult to believe that the author of the substantive inquiry into creative thought reviewed above could also be responsible for the sketchy, lightweight tract at hand. Be that as it may, de Bono (who with evident satisfaction admits to having completed the manuscript on a flight from London to Auckland) offers a simplistic footwear framework designed to help individuals take appropriate control under varying circumstances. As in his Six Thinking Hats (1986), he focuses on a half-dozen alternatives that supposedly can be mixed and/or matched. In ascending order of complexity, the possibilities encompass: ``Navy Formal Shoes'' (for routine drills or procedures); ``Grey Sneakers'' (information gathering, research); ``Brown Brogues'' (hard work, frequently requiring street smarts or initiative); ``Orange Gumboots'' (emergency actions in which safety may be a prime concern); ``Pink Slippers'' (compassion, sensitivity to human needs); and ``Purple Riding Boots'' (official authority). Whatever the merits of these toehold paradigms, the author is not putting his best foot forward. On the printed page, in fact, his sole-mates are exposed as little more than antic conceits likelier to lead to derision than productive performance. At one stage, he has an apocryphal corporate executive faced with the necessity of firing a loyal and longtime employee enjoin a subordinate to: ``Put on your pink slippers, and deal with the situation.'' In like vein, another imaginary underling charged with containing an incipient scandal is told: ``It's orange gumboot mode. We have to move very fast.'' While pedestrian claptrap of this sort might help a few readers to give themselves an occasional kick start, most would be well advised to ankle on by. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 174 pages
• Publisher: Longman Higher Education; 1St Edition edition (October 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 088730513X
• ISBN-13: 978-0887305139
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,596,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Edward de Bono is regarded as the leading international authority in the field of conceptual thinking and also the direct teaching of thinking as a skill. He originated the concept of "lateral thinking," which is now officially recognized in the Oxford English Dictionary-and which contributed to the success of the 1984 Olympic Games. He was a Rhodes Scholar at oxford and has held faculty appointments at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, London, and Harvard.

He has written twenty-seven books, which have been translated into twenty languages. These include: Opportunities; Lateral Thinking for Management; Future Positive; Atlas of Management Thinking; Wordpower; Children Solve Problems; Tactics: The Art and Science of Success; Conflicts: A Better Way to Resolve Them. He has also made a ten-part BBC series called "De Bono's Thinking Course" and two other television series.

Dr. de Bono's instruction in thinking has been sought by many of the largest corporations in USA, Canada, Europe, and the rest of the world. These include: IM, Exxon, Shell, BP, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Prudential, General Foods, Bell Telephone, Northern Telecom, Monsanto, DuPont, and ICI. He has given seminars all over the world, from Helsinki to Buenos Aires, from Toronto to Tokyo.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Shoe for Every Action, May 8, 2000

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Six Action Shoes (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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