💥 Cultivating Influential Taste and Closing The Taste-Skill Gap

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the importance of cultivating influential taste and closing the taste-skill gap, drawing insights from the experiences of influential figures like Steve Jobs, Anna Wintour, and Ira Glass.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Cultivating Influential Taste

1. How did Steve Jobs cultivate his influential taste?

• Steve Jobs' taste was shaped by a lifelong dedication to studying the pinnacle of design across diverse fields, such as architecture, cars, appliances, and Japanese Zen Buddhism.
• He believed that to become influential, one must first be influenced by exposing oneself to the best work that humans have created.

2. How did Anna Wintour develop her influential taste?

• Anna Wintour developed her taste through meticulous attention to detail and an obsessive fascination with the fashion world around her.
• She would regularly visit clubs not to party, but to study the fashionable crowd, and she would meticulously review every photo from every photoshoot.
• Anna acknowledged that her attention to detail is what sets her apart, stating "God is in the details."

3. What warning does Rick Rubin provide about cultivating taste?

• Rick Rubin warns against trying to second-guess what others will like, as that is a "dead-end path." Instead, he suggests focusing on what you personally like and authentically pursuing that.
• He advises reducing it to the simple question "what do you like?" and then taking action in that direction.

[02] Closing the Taste-Skill Gap

1. How did Ira Glass overcome his initial struggles with the taste-skill gap?

• After 10 years in journalism, Ira Glass felt ready to start reporting his own stories, but he was not initially good at it.
• To close the taste-skill gap, Ira used two key techniques:
  1. He focused on improving his skills through deliberate practice and perseverance.
  2. He maintained a clear vision of the high-quality work he aspired to, using that as a benchmark to guide his improvement.

2. What is the key insight about closing the taste-skill gap?

• The objective is not to learn to mimic greatness, but to calibrate our internal meter for greatness. This allows us to make better choices that might ultimately lead to our own great work.