Nudge, Don't Nag
by Vinayakam Murugan, Chief Everything Officer
World over, urinals face a big issue.
(Not a plumbing one. An aiming one.)
Back in the 90s, the cleaning manager at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam decided to take matters into his own hands.
(Ahem. Figuratively. Let’s keep this classy.)
Faced with a daily mess, he didn’t install signs or sensors.
He etched a tiny, realistic fly near the drain of each urinal.
Why a fly? Because when men see something mildly irritating, they tend to… target it. Primitive instinct meets precise outcome.
The result? A huge drop in spillage. Achieved without drama. Just… design.
My personal belief?
Teams want to hit the target. They want to do a good job. They’ll hustle. They’ll patch. They’ll push.
Slippages happen - but they’re not sabotage. They’re usually just the result of fuzziness: “What’s next?” “Are we on track?” “When was that due again?”
This is where the humble schedule comes in.
Not as a whip. Not as a spreadsheet of guilt.
But as the fly.
A clear, visual reminder of: Where we are. Where we should be. What we should aim for.
It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t blame.
It just sits there - quietly nudging us toward better alignment, better timing, better aim.
And yes, ladies - We know you weren’t the intended demographic for the original urinal metaphor. Wink wink.
But even in more… hygienic scenarios, the principle still holds: Tiny nudges beat loud instructions. Clear cues beat forced compliance.
So the next time someone rolls their eyes and asks, “Do we really need another planning meeting?”...
Tell them: We’re just putting the fly in the urinal.
Because at the end of the day, it’s not about control.
It’s about nudge over nag.
And a little bit of well-placed design that helps everyone aim better.