Winning in the era of taste and talent

Perhaps the marketing word of 2026 is “taste.” Creators debate it on TikTok, tech founders claim to possess it, and the media can’t stop dissecting it. For something easier to recognize than define, taste has lately generated an extraordinary amount of discussion. Hard to define and a capability of sorts, it is a combination of sensitivity, intuition and learned judgment. And we all know people who have it — whether seen in their living room, wardrobe, hanging on their walls, or coming out of their kitchen. It’s not just what they create, but how they combine things. Yet in 2026, taste is i...