client
SEKTA is a Russian cosmetics manufacturer founded in 2016 in Rostov-on-Don. The founder, Spartak Kirakosyan, actively develops the brand and holds international master classes in hairdressing. Since 2019, the company has been developing the direction of cosmetics for salons and hairdressing salons, with its own production launched in January 2022.
By the middle of 2024, the monthly turnover reached 45 million rubles, and the annual turnover for 2024 exceeded 500 million rubles. The plan for 2025 is to overcome the turnover of 1 billion rubles. The company has 2,000 square meters of production space and a staff of 120 employees. The management team is at the stage of formation and restructuring.
Task / Challenge
At the beginning of 2024, the company's CEO, Daria Kirakosyan, realized that rapid growth required a systematic approach to development management. The initial request for a strategy session sounded like the need to form a long-term vision and develop a strategy to achieve a turnover of 1 billion rubles.
Through preparation and interviews with key executives (production, purchasing, marketing, sales) and the founder, deeper issues were identified:
- Lack of coherence and unified vision of the company's development in the team.
- Conflict between purchasing and production departments.
- Lack of planning and budgeting systems.
- Alignment of commercial and production plans.
- Reduced leadership due to founder's partial departure from operations.
- The need to communicate the founder's vision to the strategy session and the entire team.
It became obvious that the goal of the strategic session should be adjusted. Achieving 1 billion in turnover is more of a tactical goal, which is feasible at current capacities. It was decided to focus the company's upcoming strategy session on establishing a dialog between the founder and the team, formulating a common mission and solving current problems through discussion of the team culture. The development of a full-fledged strategy session with a focus on 2026-2028 was postponed until mid-2025.
Decision / Process: Conduct a strategy session
Preparation of the strategy session included interviews with stakeholders and selection of work formats. The following tools were selected for the strategic session for managers (12 key employees):
- Facilitation cards for getting to know each other and setting up for work.
- Frame a Live Interview with the founder to synchronize the vision.
- Author's frame for mission statement.
- TEAM CULTURE frame for analyzing interaction problems through cultural dialog.
- A ZOOM frame for analyzing team communication.
Progress of the strategy session:
- Introduction and Interview with the Founder: The session started with an introduction and warm-up. Then there was a "Live Interview" with the founder, where the issues of vision, product development, brand and internal interaction were discussed. The dialog was open and allowed the team to ask exciting questions.
- Mission statement: The team split into two groups to develop the company's mission statement. The discussion was active, and the key discussion point concerned the target audience of the brand. As a result, we managed to reach an agreement and fix a common mission.
- Working with problems and culture: Using TEAM CULTURE metaphorical maps, teams identified key problems in internal communication and culture. Then, in a brainstorming format, more than 20 ideas for improvement were generated - from implementing KPIs to regular meetings between departments. Each idea was assigned a responsible person and a deadline.
- Team Communication and Reflection: At the end of the day, the team worked with the ZOOM frame to analyze communication, followed by a reflection session where participants highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of the interaction and suggested ways to improve.
Results / Outcomes of the strategy session
The strategy session achieved the following results:
- Aligned information field: Improved mutual understanding between the founder and top management regarding the vision and goals of the company.
- Formulated the company's mission: Created a unified mission that unites the team.
- Developed improvement plan: Generated more than 20 specific ideas to optimize internal processes and interactions, with assigned responsibilities.
Feedback from the client after the session:
- There has been a marked improvement in the level and quality of internal communication.
- Increased leadership behavior in the team is recorded.
- The formulated mission is actively used in external communications and when discussing strategic issues of company and product development.
