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Zeal Consulting

Scale your operations. Cut the chaos.

Enterprise thinking. Built for growing businesses.

We help growing companies eliminate operational friction, connect disconnected systems, and build the foundation for sustainable growth.

CRMSchedulingAccountingField opsZealoperating layerExecutivedashboard

For companies of 50 to 500 people

Built on experience across enterprise banking, federal innovation, military operations, and entrepreneurship.

Growth outpaces infrastructure.

What worked at 20 people breaks at 100. The friction hides in the handoffs.

Exhibit 01 · Where friction hides

Every handoff between systems is a place where work is re-typed, delayed, or lost.

  1. 01Lead
  2. 02Quote
  3. 03Job
  4. 04Invoice
  5. 05Report

Disconnected systems create duplicate work.

Lead details are re-typed from the CRM or inbox into estimating, and again into scheduling. Each copy is another chance for errors.

Illustrative journey of a single order through a growing operations business. Select a break point.

One connected operating model.

Most operational problems sit where people, processes, systems, data, and intelligence meet. We work on all five together.

Exhibit 02 · Operating model

Improvements stick only when all five elements move together.

01 / 05

People

Roles, responsibilities, leadership

What we look at
Who owns each decision, where handoffs happen, and whether leaders have the information they need.
When it is not working
Work stalls waiting on one person, and accountability is unclear when something slips.
Select an element to see what we review and the signs it needs attention.

Enterprise-grade systems. Sized for your business.

Exhibit 03 · Engagement path

Start with clarity, build what matters, then keep it improving.

  1. 1Assess· Most clients start here

    Operational Systems Assessment

    Find where operations are holding back growth, and what to fix first.

    Outcome: A prioritized improvement roadmap.

    Book an assessment
  2. 2Transform

    Systems & AI Transformation

    Connect your tools, automate the handoffs, and put AI to work where it pays.

    Outcome: Less manual work and one trusted view of performance.

    Start with an assessment
  3. 3Advise

    Fractional Transformation Advisory

    Senior operational leadership to keep change on track, without a full-time hire.

    Outcome: Improvements that stick, with an accountable leader.

    Discuss advisory support
Engagements can be taken individually. Pricing is scoped after the assessment.

Enterprise experience. Entrepreneurial execution.

We understand the complexity of large organizations and the practical realities of growing businesses.

  • Enterprise banking & risk

    Controls and risk designed in from the start.

    Vice President, Strategy and Home Lending Controls, JPMorgan Chase

  • Federal innovation & technology

    Modernization where data and security matter.

    Innovation and automation, Defense Logistics Agency

  • Military operations & leadership

    Disciplined planning and clear ownership.

    U.S. Army Signal Officer; led a 50-soldier technology organization

  • Business ownership & consulting

    Advice sized to your budget, and hands-on delivery.

    Founder, Zeal Consulting

Led by Evan J. Howard, MBA. Experience listed is prior professional background, not Zeal Consulting clients or contracts, and implies no endorsement by those organizations.

Your business has outgrown the way it operates. Let's fix that.

The operations assessment starts with a focused conversation. Here is what we cover.

  1. 01

    Identify operational friction

    Where work slows down, gets repeated, or depends on one person.

  2. 02

    Explore systems and workflow gaps

    How your tools, data, and processes connect today, and where they do not.

  3. 03

    Establish practical next steps

    A short list of priorities you can act on, whether or not we work together.

Built for growing organizations ready to improve how work gets done.

Tell us a little about your business. We reply within one business day to schedule the conversation.

Prefer email? info@theartofzeal.com

Tools you use, what is slowing you down, timing.

Sent securely and used only to respond to you. See our privacy policy.

Common questions.

What does Zeal Consulting do?
Zeal Consulting is an operations, systems, and AI transformation consultancy for growing mid-market businesses. We help companies simplify operations, connect disconnected systems, and build scalable infrastructure through better processes, data, technology, and AI.
Who do you work with?
Owners, CEOs, COOs, and operations leaders at growing companies of roughly 50 to 500 employees, including manufacturing and industrial services businesses.
What is an operations assessment?
A structured review of how work gets done today. We identify operational friction, explore gaps between your systems and workflows, and establish practical next steps in a prioritized roadmap.
Do we have to replace the software we already use?
Usually not. We start by connecting and improving the tools you already have, and only recommend replacing a system when it is the real constraint.
How do you use AI?
Only where it solves a defined operational problem, such as triaging requests, processing documents, or surfacing insights from data. We fix the underlying process first, limit access to what each task needs, and keep people in control of the decisions that matter.
What is fractional transformation advisory?
Ongoing senior guidance and implementation oversight for operational change, without the cost of a full-time executive hire.