Life Orientations

What Life Orientations does

Life Orientations (LIFO) is a behavioral assessment and development methodology business operated by Business Consultants, Inc. (BCon), a privately held Japanese firm founded in 1971. Its core product is the LIFO Survey Series, a suite of 11 specialized assessments built on a proprietary four-orientation behavioral model (Supporting Giving, Adapting Dealing, Conserving Holding, Controlling Taking) that identifies individuals' style preferences in both favorable and unfavorable conditions. The methodology is offered through surveys (orientations, selling, leadership, parenting, coaching, learning, teaching, partner, customer, origins, and organizational culture), practitioner certification programs (self-guided, regional workshops, internal organizational, and virtual blended), and digital tools including E-Feedback Charts.

LIFO monetizes through four primary streams: recurring survey and assessment tool subscriptions, certification program fees (professional services), bespoke organizational solutions (customized training and consulting), and one-time licensing of LIFO materials and tools to certified practitioners. The go-to-market is hybrid: direct enterprise sales for organizational solutions, a global channel of licensed certified practitioners who deliver workshops and consulting, inside sales/self-service for individual survey access, and regional workshop deliveries. The company is headquartered in Tokyo and operates wholly-owned subsidiaries in Bangkok, Shanghai, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, and Jakarta, claiming a global footprint spanning 15+ countries through business partners and a network of certified practitioners.

The company has cumulatively served over 9 million people and 20,000 organizations. Its customer base is diversified across enterprise organizations (OD, leadership, team building), individual professionals, HR/L&D functions, sales teams, and parents. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is quote-based for organizational and certification engagements. One named enterprise reference is Mattel, where a manufacturing efficiency case study is published. There is no public financial disclosure, no disclosed funding rounds, and no AI/ML capabilities are evidenced in the source material.

Name

Life Orientations

Legal name

Business Consultants, Inc.

Website

https://lifo.bconglobal.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Life Orientations (LIFO), operated by Japan's Business Consultants, Inc., provides a proprietary four-orientation behavioral assessment methodology and 11 specialized surveys, serving enterprise clients, HR teams, and individuals through a global network of certified practitioners across 15+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Behavioral Assessment and Leadership Development

NAICS

Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Personality & Behavioral Assessments (BPACAMAC)

Keywords

• Behavioral assessment surveys
• Leadership development training
• Organizational consulting services
• Practitioner certification programs
• Strengths-based methodology

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Certification Programs: LIFO offers guided study certification, local/regional workshop certification, internal organizational certification, and virtual blended certification. These programs license practitioners to conduct LIFO seminars and consulting.
2. Survey and Assessment Tools: Online survey administration and feedback reports for individuals, sales teams, leaders, parents, and organizations.
3. Organizational Solutions: Customized training and consulting services for organizations, including team building and leadership development programs.
4. LIFO Materials and Tools: Licensed practitioners can purchase LIFO materials, slides, and tools for use with clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Life Orientations (LIFO) sells a proprietary behavioral assessment methodology built on four orientations (Supporting Giving, Adapting Dealing, Conserving Holding, Controlling Taking), delivered as online surveys, practitioner certification programs, organizational consulting, and digital feedback tools such as E-Feedback Charts. The methodology identifies behavioral style preferences in both favorable and unfavorable conditions and provides strategies for productivity, leadership, sales, parenting, and team development.

Product overview

Life Orientations (LIFO) is a behavioral assessment and development methodology offered primarily as a suite of survey-based products. The core offering is the LIFO Survey Series, which includes multiple specialized assessments (Orientations Essential, Selling Styles, Leadership Style, Parenting Style, Coaching Style, Learning Styles, Teaching Style, Partner Styles, Customer Styles, Origins, and Organizational Culture surveys). These surveys identify behavioral style preferences and provide strategies for managing strengths in different conditions. LIFO also offers practitioner certification programs (Self-Guided Study, Local/Regional Workshops, Internal Organization Workshops, and Virtual Blended Certification), and digital tools such as E-Feedback Charts for ongoing team development. The methodology is based on four behavioral orientations: Supporting Giving (SG), Adapting Dealing (AD), Conserving Holding (CH), and Controlling Taking (CT). The platform serves organizational development, talent management, team building, and personal growth applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LIFO Orientations Essential Survey: Core survey for identifying strengths and personal styles
• Selling Styles Essential Survey
• Parenting Style Survey
• Leadership Style Essential Survey
• Customer Styles Survey
• Coaching Style Survey
• Learning Styles Survey
• Teaching Style Survey
• Partner Styles Survey
• Origins Survey
• Organizational Culture Survey

Quantifiable outcome

• Manufacturing efficiency increased from 65% to 95% of standard
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• SHL: A large-scale talent assessment and psychometrics provider serving enterprise hiring and development — comparable as a broader incumbent with overlapping behavioral/personality assessment offerings alongside a wider talent analytics platform.
• Korn Ferry: A global organizational consulting giant offering assessments (KF360, Voices), leadership development and talent advisory — comparable as a broader incumbent offering behavioral assessment among a wider HR consulting portfolio.
• Center for Creative Leadership (CCL): CCL is a leading global leadership development institution offering assessments, coaching and programs — comparable as an established incumbent overlapping LIFO's leadership assessment and development use cases.

Direct peers

• Gallup (CliftonStrengths): Gallup's CliftonStrengths is a strengths-based assessment used in leadership, team and engagement programs with certified coaches — directly comparable to LIFO's strengths-based methodology and coaching/practitioner GTM model.
• Hogan Assessments: Hogan sells personality-based leadership and personnel selection assessments used by global enterprises for hiring and development — directly comparable to LIFO on assessment-driven leadership and team development offerings for enterprise buyers.
• Insights (Insights Discovery): Insights Discovery offers a four-color behavioral model (similar in concept to LIFO's four orientations) with a global accredited practitioner network and enterprise team/leadership programs — directly comparable on framework shape, licensee channel and corporate use cases.
• The Myers-Briggs Company: The dominant personality-type assessment vendor, offering the MBTI instrument alongside practitioner certification and enterprise workshops — directly comparable to LIFO on product category (behavioral/personality assessment), practitioner-led distribution, and enterprise L&D buyer.
• Wiley (Everything DiSC): Wiley's DiSC suite is one of the most widely used workplace behavioral assessments, sold via authorized partners and used for team and leadership development — directly overlapping with LIFO on methodology, certification model and target enterprise L&D buyer.
• The Predictive Index: Predictive Index provides behavioral assessments and talent optimization software used by enterprise HR and sales teams, distributed via certified partners — directly comparable to LIFO on assessment product, partner-led GTM and enterprise talent/team use cases.

Emerging players

• TTI Success Insights: A multi-assessment vendor offering DISC, driving forces and other behavioral instruments used in coaching and team development — comparable as a smaller, assessment-focused competitor overlapping LIFO's survey-and-practitioner ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/lorientations
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCwVYjnSvxb3OCvK6nAXb-gw
• Instagraminstagram.com/lifeorientations
• TikToktiktok.com/@lifeorientations

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Life Orientations