Ceres Technologies (NY) takes big step in cultural development, sharpens vision and establishes target system with measurable annual plan

The challenge

Ceres Technologies Inc. was founded in 2011 and is located in the Hudson Valley of New York State. In addition to the production of gas and vapor delivery devices, Ceres also offers contract manufacturing of process tools for OEMs and research organizations as well as engineering services for semiconductor and industrial customers.

Following the merger with the AtlasCopco Group, the former Ceres CEO and owner left the company at the end of 2023. A General Manager appointed from Germany has taken over the management on site.

In order for Ceres to operate successfully in the new group of companies, it was necessary to quickly develop a vision for the future and the strategy and goals derived from it. The 13-member management team, which had been in place for many years, was also to be reorganized under the new leadership. The aim was to bring everyone together in an effective bond and to work together for the first time ever on a long-term corporate vision with derived goals.

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Procedure

Building on a common attitude of the management team (focused on 3 values), an essential building block was laid in order to really collectively derive a forward-looking corporate strategy.

We used the OKR (Objectives & Key Results) "customized" method to jointly develop both long-term and short-term objectives. This led the team through a two-day process, at the end of which concrete measures were developed to achieve the 2024 targets, all of which "contribute" to the long-term targets for 2030 and can therefore make the ambitious vision a reality.

And quite "incidentally" to this content dimension, we worked selectively and very effectively on working together. The 1:1 coaching sessions in the middle of the week were used for individual sparring on the OKR method and its implementation. It was also possible to reduce or even overcome very subjective hurdles with personal impulses.

The combination of work on the content level with the dimensions of team dynamics and values has efficiently led to very pleasing results.

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"I experienced real team spirit within the Ceres management team: 14 managers agreed on just 3 shared values in less than 30 minutes. A new record!_{"
Alexander Gebhardt-Euler}

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Result

• 3 fundamental, shared values were found, bundled and agreed upon
• Joint development of an appealing vision that everyone can identify with and strategic goals for 2030 derived from it
• Measurable action plan to achieve the 2024 annual targets with clearly assigned responsibilities from the entire leadership team
• Manageable, efficiency-oriented team governance to drive both day-to-day business and strategy work in effective meetings - and regular time investment in the leadership team
• Communication plan to disseminate the results of the work to the entire workforce and to take them directly on the attractive journey into the future

Together, all this has given the team even more courage and confidence for a successful future.