Cambridge Business Association
Zennovation
Book

Zennovation

An East-West Approach to Business Success

Tomio Taki and Adam Taki
Bloomberg Press, 2012
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Editorial Rating

6

Qualities

  • Engaging
  • Insider's Take

Recommendation

Tomio Taki became president of Takihyo, his family’s 250-year-old Japanese clothing company, at age 26. His clear, practical approach to solving problems and his ability to foresee future trends made him the prime force behind Western-style clothing’s popularity in Japan. Taki was the financial and cerebral power behind Anne Klein, and he made designer Donna Karan a household name. Taki’s life story is an engrossing read. His autobiography falls short as a business management book, since the authors, Taki and his son Adam Taki (writing with business consultant Mortimer R. Feinberg), leave most of the job of extrapolating business lessons to the reader. Nonetheless, getAbstract believes this insider’s look into Japanese culture and history – and into the business of fashion – make Taki’s saga a worthwhile read.

Summary

How It Began

Tomio Taki was the eldest of four boys born into an affluent family in Japan. During World War II, at age 10, Taki had to flee his secure, privileged home to join children from a variety of backgrounds in the hard-working life of an evacuation camp. There, he learned lessons that stayed with him throughout his life, such as how to work with others and how every problem has a solution. He began to develop a strong sense of self-reliance. After a brief time at boarding school, Taki attended Keio University, where he played on the school’s basketball team. He learned three important lessons from his coach and eventually applied them to his business career:

  1. “Bend your knees before you jump” – Be prepared to handle unexpected challenges.
  2. “Winning is impossible if you don’t know the competition” – Learn everything you can about your opponent to create the best strategy.
  3. “Without a loser, there is no winner” – Even the most talented, hard-working people lose; it’s part of life.

After college, Taki began an apprenticeship at Itochu, a company in Osaka with numerous divisions, “...

About the Authors

Tomio Taki heads his family’s firm, Takihyo Co. Adam Taki founded RH Gallery in New York City. Commentator and consultant Mortimer R. Feinberg chairs BFS Psychological Associates.

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