If business were a person, consumer insights would have to be the feeling heart. Cut away the noise, jargon, and buzzwords- the act of consumer insights is simply about growing perspective and appreciating people. The real magic happens when a person's story is discovered so honestly that your next duty as a human is to step into that story, gift in-hand.I have Nintendo to thank for this perspective. For reals, it starts there. One of my first tangible memories was seeing Mario go from the blue sky of World 1-1 to the dark underground of World 1-2 on the original NES. I recall, very clearly, the moment my child brain imagined "hey, I wonder if you can jump up on those bricks at the very top?" Then, as if on cue, my older brother commanded Mario to hop off a moving platform and parked him on the top of the screen. There he stood in front of the coin count- with no reason, but every right to be there.If you need a visual reminder of all this, here is a YouTube video (link needs to be pasted into browser)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJPdDCsROik&t=22sYears before that moment took place. A creator in Japan must have thought- "you know what, I bet people will want to explore and try jumping up there, let's make it happen." Nintendo entered my story with a gift, and they have been a part of that story ever since.The firm connection to consumer insights happened later when Nintendo released the Wii in 2006. By then I had taken my first few marketing classes in college and had started to form a perspective on business. Many people met the Wii's product announcement with doubt. Candy bar controller? Notably underpowered compared to Sony and Microsoft's offering? What is Nintendo thinking?They were thinking about it quite a lot and listening too. How can games fit into the lives of people that don't typically play them? How do we fit in their stories? What gifts can we bring? It's this mindfulness, and willingness to act on counter-intuitive honesty that sold 101 million units. That's when I knew this profession was the right fit for me. Every product, every brand has that same potential- to appreciate people, to learn their stories, and bring the right gift.