cover image Zennovation: An East-West Approach to Business Success

Zennovation: An East-West Approach to Business Success

Tomio Taki and Adam Taki. Wiley, $24.95 (226p) ISBN 978-1-118-15339-0

Japanese business mogul Taki has an impressive r%C3%A9sum%C3%A9, having consulted, financed, or managed numerous companies over the years and around the world. He led Takihyo, his family's 250-year-old kimono business, through an extraordinary period of growth, and he later went on to help build the U.S.-based Anne Klein Company and launch the successful Donna Karan and DKNY fashion lines. While his expertise lies primarily in clothing branding and retail, the crosspollination of the fashion industry between America and Japan makes Taki more than qualified to offer business advice that's applicable to the pursuits of domestic entrepreneurs and international tycoons alike. Through his ghostwriting son, Adam, the senior Taki eloquently holds forth on best practice%E2%80%94from relying not only on competitive advantage, but also on long-lasting relationships with buyers and clients, to viewing a company holistically with an eye toward sustainable progress (as epitomized in the Latin phrase used to conclude each of the book's two main parts: "Respice, Adspice, Prospice," which means "a look at the past at the present, and into the future"). Rife with detailed narrative case studies and tried and tested strategies, serious students and business professionals will find Taki's tome worth the read. (May)