Zennovation

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, “...