Zebra operates in 3 major strategic consulting fields. The brief descriptions below are intended to give some 'feel' for the Zebra approach to strategy.
Zebra assists and facilitates management teams in determining an overall strategy for the organization, and in creating effective plans and an implementation organization to realise the strategy. Key elements to be reviewed in almost any situation include:
Within a commercial organization the underlying theme will usually be creation of value to shareholders in the middle to long term. For non-profit organizations the emphasis will be on creating value for relevant stakeholders, in line with the statutes of the organization. In both cases financial health is an essential criterion.
A typical Zebra client for this services would be a company operating at an unacceptably low level of profitability, with no obvious prospect of improvement. Zebra coaches and supports the management team through an intensive turnaround process; depending on the complexity of the organization, this process would typically take 6 to 12 weeks. Subjects covered usually include the following:
An important theme in this type of intervention is creation of a focused 'sense of urgency'. This is supported by a heavy emphasis on a project-oriented approach to all facets of the change.
Zebra also helps organizations take complex technology-related decisions, and where necessary designs the decision-making processes to do so. Complexity may:
Key factors often include finding a viable development path, minimising risks, maximising acceptance or market take-up and optimising the value achieved from innovation. Technology strategy projects tend to require a broad toolset; examples of techniques used include roadmapping, Quality Function Deployment, option modelling and system dynamics.