What do charities and flies in urinals have in common?

Last week, I nipped to the toilet after a meeting in a London hotel. While there, I noticed something curious in the urinal: a rather artistic drawing of a fly printed on the ceramic. You might be able to make it out in this hastily taken photo. Why was it there? Anyone who's read the book Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein will be able to tell you. The fly, first pioneered successfully in Amsterdam, helps men to 'shoot straight.' So, what can the charity world learn from the fly in the urinal, other than a handy tip for improving hygiene? Well, the fly shows us that targets - whether they are strategic, operational or for fundraising - can influence behaviour and increase motivation, if used in the right way. But our targets need to be realistic and achievable.  If the fly was too difficult to hit, the result would have been different. And arguably a little messier. And finally, it shows that we need to buy in to targets in order for them to be successfully adopted. The ceramic fly works primarily because at some level the man decides to take aim, rather than because he is aware of the ulterior hygienic motives behind the fly's existence. What do charities and flies in urinals have in common? It turns out this is not the first line of a joke. The ceramic fly can show us the importance of targets. It should be flushed with pride.