No 46. Everyone Talks about “Taste”. What Is It?Why It Matters?

Product taste is the ability to quickly recognize quality and make sound judgments when building products. In the AI era, where creating acceptable work is easy but distinctive work is hard, taste becomes a critical differentiator. It's not about aesthetics but judgment—knowing what's worth building and why. Taste can be trained through two components: sensitivity (perceiving details through deliberate practice) and standards (building a reference system of excellence). Company culture shapes taste development, with organizations favoring design-driven, metrics-driven, strategy-driven, or sales-driven approaches. As AI lowers production costs, the scarcity shifts to knowing what's worth building before using any tools.