Tastes

August 17th, 2011 by Thom Peters

On a recent trip to the grocery store, I came across a bottle of “Sparkling Cucumber Beverage.”

I’m sure you’re thinking what I was thinking… Something along the lines of, “huh?!?”

It reminded me of grocery shopping with my boys when they were young. In order to keep them out of my wife’s way as we shopped, we’d play a game called “Gross Food Hunt.” The boys and I would scour the store for the most disgusting foods available, and when we found one, we’d yell to the others across the store. (My wife wasn’t too keen on that part.)

For me, any beverage made from cucumbers ranks right down there with pickled pig’s feet, tongue and those puffy pastries with the pink coconut icing. But when I think about it I know that somebody – apparently many somebodies – actually likes these things.

So what is it about some people that allows their tastes to differ so far from my fine palate? Why are there fifty kinds of peanut butter on the shelves when clearly Skippy Crunchy is the best? Maybe in the big scheme of things, taste is just another factor of our overall differences… social, ethnic, political and religious?

As a practical approach to our work, think about how divergent tastes factors into what programs we offer? How we promote our work? What is important to our particular clients and donors? One size – or one taste – does not fit all.

Do your messages, your mission, and your way of work strike a chord with your intended audience? How about with someone who would drink a glass of sparkling cucumber?