April / 10 / 2013

Museums and Motivation (Trouble with Gamificaion)

by James Heaton

How can museums use motivation more effectively to engage visitors and other constituents? What are the dangers and opportunities of the "gamification" trend, and what can museums do with insights obtainable from the motivational factors within games?read more

November / 3 / 2012

Hurricane Sandy Beachfront Experience

by Kira Brodskaya

My Monday night—the night Hurricane Sandy came ashore—was spent in my fourth floor apartment on Manhattan Beach. On one side I watched the ocean waves cover the roofs of the homes on the beach. On the other side, I watched the Sheepshead Bay canal waters rush in over cars and through buildings. As I saw all this I was wishing I had packed an inflatable boat in my "to go" bag.read more

October / 29 / 2012

Tronvig Group in the Red Zone

by James Heaton

Tronvig Group updates regarding the effect of Hurricane Sandy on operations and our offices.read more

March / 18 / 2013

Mixing Motivation: Danger of Extrinsic Motivation

by James Heaton

"Virtually every type of expected tangible reward made contingent on task performance does, in fact, undermine intrinsic motivation. Furthermore, not only tangible rewards, but also threats, deadlines, directives, and competition pressure diminish intrinsic motivation because, according to cognitive evaluation theory, people experience them as controllers of their behavior." —Richard M. Ryan and Edward L. Deciread more

September / 19 / 2012

The Science and Art of Marketing

by James Heaton

As marketers we must never be in a position where we are just throwing shit up on the wall to see what sticks. We should be applying our creativity and artistry in execution of a strategic hypothesis that is based on research and genuine insight.read more

December / 12 / 2012

This Piggy Did No Time Sheet

by James Heaton

We are certainly not the first organization to struggle with getting everyone to fill in their time sheets. We've tried a variety of methods. We have made it really easy with software. We have tried asking nicely, telling regularly, assigning a person to go check & cajole each and every day. Through all this somehow consistent compliance has always eluded us. Enter the piggies.read more

January / 10 / 2013

We Make Mistakes

by James Heaton

"To swear off making mistakes is very easy. All you have to do is swear off having ideas."

—Leo Burnett