When we came back after the Christmas break, like many we all had our New Year Resolutions fresh in our minds and the general consensus was to be more active. Now, personally, I thrive off competition. but more than that, I tend to stick to something more when I’m accountable to someone else. Something we’re really passionate about at Layers is achieving things as a team not just as individuals. We genuinely believe we’re better together and so was born our 2021 challenge.

The Challenge

The aim is to cover (walk, run, cycle, surf, swim or anything else self-powered) 2021km for every member of Team Layers. At the start of the year, we had 5 people on the team (James, Chris, Niall, Jonny and myself – Paula) so our collective total for the year was 10,105km (2021 x 5). That was until Daniel joined the team at the beginning of February. We’ve pro-rated his contribution for the year based on the month he wasn’t with us and his total comes out at 1850km, hiking up our total (pun intended ????) to 11,955km to collectively hit before the end of 2021.

To put that into perspective we’ll have done just shy of 48 marathons EACH by the end of the year, or collectively we’ll have gone to the North Pole and back, and then back to the North Pole again. Luckily we won’t be stranded there at the end of the year ????

The Reason

Most people fail their new year resolutions by February, but we don’t want to be most people soooooo we threw down a challenge that doesn’t seem too difficult when broken down into daily targets (it works out 5.5km per person per day) BUT with this challenge consistency is key. Sticking with it past February is necessary (especially for those who thought it was too cold to go for a walk in January ????).

Although this is a collective goal rather than an individual challenge, we all have our own reasons for doing it. As part of our efforts, we’ll be fundraising for charities that are near and dear to our hearts.

The Charities

James – Chron’s & Colitis UK

Chris – Macmillan Cancer Support

Niall – The Haemophilia Society

Paula – CLAPA (Cleft Lip & Palate Association)

Jonny – Music Venue Trust

Daniel – CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably)

Take a look at our Team page on Just Giving, have a read of our individual pages and find out why these charities are so close to our hearts:

www.justgiving.com/team/Layers2021challenge

Stay up to date with our efforts here: Layers.studio/2021km-challenge

We appreciate any donations, shares and encouragement along the way.

Layers turns 5!

‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’

 

It was Einstein that said ‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’ and this is the ethos on which Layers is built.

Layers was born out of a belief that things could be done in a better way, so we challenge ourselves, our clients and our partners to explore the possibility of a better way to reach our goals rather than simply the way we know.

The way we achieve this is by involving our entire team from the offset and throughout on a project, so the solutions we implement and the advice we give is truly holistic in nature.

In keeping with this, our birthday series will feature insights from all 5 members of the team…

When it comes to strategy, a lot of businesses use their year-end as an opportunity to reflect and set out their plans for the following year. While I agree that this is a great time to reflect and plan for the year ahead, I want to explain why a one-off exercise isn’t gonna cut it as well as highlight some useful building blocks for creating a solid strategic plan to get you closer to your goals.

Set SMART goals

Strategy drives decisions. Every decision made by businesses should take into consideration whether it takes them closer to or further from their overall goals so it’s important that you have clearly defined goals. I’m not bringing anything new to the party when I say be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timebound) about the goals you set but it is still worth highlighting. 

The main one for me here is measurable! If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. 

By focussing on measurable metrics, you can essentially work backwards and understand what output is required to hit your targets. 

For example, if I currently get 1 new client for every 10 proposals sent, to get 10 new clients, I either need to send 100 proposals or I can look at ways of improving my conversion rate.

Write them down

This one is short and sweet. People that write down their goals are between 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to achieve those goals than those that don’t write them down. Please please please don’t just internalise your ambitions. Write them down, shout them from the rooftop and you’ll be more likely to realise your goals.

Break it down

So you’ve set your goals. Now what? Well, these goals can feel intimidating given the magnitude of what you aim to achieve and this is often the reason why many fail. Set yourself up for success by reverse engineering your goals into smaller more manageable milestones.

Then break each milestone down into daily tasks and habits. It takes an average of 66 days for an action to become a habit so start small and add one at a time. Small differences elicit great changes when they are repeatedly performed so be consistent.

| “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”

Revisit your goals

Revisiting your goals is important but so too is the frequency with which you do this. There is little point in setting annual targets and then only checking in on them in a years time. Reflect on a quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily basis. 

When you revisit your goals, it gives you an opportunity to celebrate the little wins, evaluate your current strategy and assess how to move forward. Be honest with yourself and ask, have you been doing what you said you would? What could you improve? Are your daily actions taking you closer to or further from your goals?

Remember that your current position is less important than your trajectory so if you’re doing a lot of front-loaded work and you believe it will pay off in the long run then stick with it.

Don’t fall victim to the sunk cost fallacy though – just because you’ve invested a lot of time, effort and money into your current plan shouldn’t be reason enough to stick with it. If it’s not working, adapt the plan. You’ve already lost that time, effort and money so don’t expend even more unnecessarily.

| “If the plan doesn’t work change the plan but never the goal”

Be accountable

Humour me for a minute and think about a Formula 1 team. A Formula One driver is only one member* of a huge team (*there are 2 drivers in every team) employing hundreds of people, including the Team Boss, Aerodynamics team, Design team, Engineers, Commercial team and many more. A standard Formula One season will comprise of 20 Grand Prix races (+/- a couple). I’ll not mention the 2020 season! ????

Sure, they’ll have a plan for the entire season but they’ll revisit their plan regularly and assess how they are doing against their goals and what needs to happen in order to achieve them. From qualifiers to practice laps to the race itself, the ‘back office’ team are in the driver’s ear (literally) advising on what is happening on other parts of the course, when to make a pit stop, how their competitors are doing etc. That constant feedback loop is everpresent even when things are going to plan, or maybe everything goes to plan because of the constant feedback. 

Regardless, this means the success of the driver and the wider team is not down to the driver alone. To execute their plan, an F1 team requires a huge amount of teamwork and every individual is accountable for the overall success of the team. Likewise, in a business, a specific department or individual person isn’t the sole reason for the success of the business. Everyone has their strengths so by playing to them and striving for a shared company-wide goal, everyone is accountable and more importantly, everyone is valued.

| “For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack”

Make adjustments

Every call, every meeting, every project you complete, take a minute to evaluate the good and the bad. What did you do well and what could you improve? Get your wider team involved in this too – a fresh perspective could prove invaluable. 

The same way that Lewis Hamilton (other Formula 1 drivers are available) will receive feedback throughout every race, every lap, every corner he turns, we too should be evaluating our performance and making adjustments as we go.

Basically, what I’m saying is in order to execute your strategy well, you need commitment from the entire team. So, this year when you plan for the year ahead and set your goals, make sure everyone in your organisation is aware of them. Write them down so you and the team are reminded of them daily. Revisit them often and don’t be afraid to change tact if your original plan doesn’t work.

As we navigate through these unprecedented times, be aware that although you are having to negotiate unfamiliar, and for some, scary scenarios such as working from home and homeschooling, know that you are not alone!

It may not be a cure for Coronavirus but if it helps with your current situation then I’d say it’s worthwhile sharing. So in the spirit of ‘we’ll get through this together’, here are some tips on working from home ????????????

Stick to your routine

That means getting up at your normal time. You’ll thank me when it’s time to go back to the office and it’s not like facing the 1st day back at school after the summer holidays! 

We’re creatures of habit so if you normally get up and go to the gym in the morning, how about opting for a home workout instead? Our friends at Gym Plan have a free app for those of you on Apple devices with lots of inspo on workouts you can do at home without any equipment. If you normally battle through traffic, line up some toy cars and scream at them for a bit. (I joke ???? Kinda ????)

Create a workspace

Although it’s tempting to work from your bed or recline on the sofa, best practice is to set up a work station preferably in a home office but if you don’t have this, your dining room table will do the trick. You’re less likely to get distracted by Frasier, Home & Away or The Chase (Personal fave ????) when you have a designated work station and it’s much better for your posture too.

Get away from your work station

It’s not good to be sat all day in front of a screen. You’ve probably gained an hour or 2 by only having to commute from your bedroom to your dining room so use them wisely. Go for a walk, get some fresh air, have a stretch and actively remove yourself from your workstation. We can only concentrate intensely on a given task for short periods of time so break up your day.

Stay in touch with your colleagues

Tools such as Slack, Zoom and Whereby make it easier than ever to keep in touch with your team. 

Don’t just leave it until you have a question though. Keep in touch throughout the day like you normally would in the office. 

Check-in with everyone and see what they got up to last night (Likely not a lot considering the current situation), get Netflix recommendations, find out if they have any tips for staying focused etc.

Stop for team (virtual) coffee breaks:

Separate ‘home jobs’ and ‘work jobs’

Yes, you could very well just put a load of laundry on and get it out on the line. It’s a nice day after all with great drying (God, I sound like my Mum!). Maybe just wash the bed sheets and give the bathroom a quick clean while you’re there. Maybe just run the duster over the living room. 

See where I’m going here? It’s never just one thing. 

Leave the laundry for after work hours. Make your bed when you get up as normal. Stick to your routine otherwise you’ll end up working at 10pm and seriously blurring the lines between your work and home life.

On average, businesses rebrand every 7-10 years. Sometimes, a rebrand is compulsory however more often than not the company, product offering, or audience has evolved and so the brand too must evolve in line with this.

There are sometimes multiple contributing factors that motivate a rebrand but commonly there is one main motivator. Below are the top 7 main reasons for rebranding ???? ???? ????

Bad reputation ❌ ???? ????

If a brand has a bad rep and business is suffering as a result, rebranding can ensure the negative connotations with the brand are dissipated.

A prime example of this is the new CEO for RBS Group, Alison Rose announcing a rebrand of RBS Group to Natwest Group later this year (2020). Alison said her focus is on making sure they’re a ‘safe, smart bank for the future’ and considering the association of ‘government bailout’ every time you hear ‘RBS’, a rebrand makes complete sense.

Topically, with the spread of Covid-19 a.k.a Coronavirus, 38% of beer-drinking Americans cited they would under no circumstances drink Corona beer (according to Uber Facts). With their worst quarter in over a decade and no signs of Coronavirus spread slowing, it begs the question, should Corona be considering a rebrand?

Changing Markets ???? ???? ????

Companies can face a serious threat of closure if they don’t ‘move with the times’. Changes to requirements may mean offering an additional product/service or pivoting completely in a sense of ‘out with the old and in with the new’.

HMV was forced into administration twice in the space of 6 years because they failed to evolve to meet the needs and wants of their audience and the move to entertainment being consumed digitally. Although adding a new product may not have been enough. A simultaneous rebrand would certainly help convey their diversification into other markets and aid their survival.

Outdated image ???? ???? ????

What was trendy 20 years ago, or even 5 years ago, may not be so trendy now. We see it with fashion when we look back at pictures of our parents growing up but brands too can come across as old-fashioned if they have not been updated. Guinness does an impeccable job of keeping their brand fresh and this transfers to their adverts with them being released seasonally and topically. The Six Nations adverts are some of their best but the ‘Shane’ advert is my personal favourite:

Aligning Brand Portfolio ???? ???? ????️

When a business has many brands in their portfolio it often leads to high costs when it comes to maintaining and promoting the brand. Rebrand­ing can ensure that the entire brand portfolio is aligned and details a clear narrative about the organisation. Virgin does this well, with its companies (Money, Media, Mobile, Atlantic, Holidays and Trains) all being similarly identified. Positive association with one will translate to all categories; however the same is true of negative publicity.

Mergers and Acquisitions ???? ???? ????

Generally, any change in business ownership will lead to a rebrand, not only to make the change apparent but to comply with legal and regulatory requirements as well. In the case of spin-offs, the new company is required to develop its own brand. This expresses that it is no longer part of the larger organization.

The merger of T-Mobile and Orange to EE wasn’t a quick rebranding exercise, rather a careful co-branding exercise that took over 5 years to execute. Their success was due in part to the long-term strategic approach with which they tackled this merger rather than rushing it through.

New CEO ???? ???? ????

A new CEO normally equates to a new lease of life within a business. Oftentimes this can lead to major changes that influence the course the company takes. I mentioned the Alison Rose/RBS example under ‘Bad reputation’ however it is equally applicable in the context of a new CEO shaking things up.