Alright, so the other day, I got this bug in my ear about Jochen Zeitz, the guy steering the ship at Harley-Davidson. You hear names like that, especially with a brand as big as Harley, and you can’t help but wonder, right? What’s his deal? So, I figured, let’s do a bit of a deep dive. My own little project, you could say.
First off, I just started poking around, you know, the usual. Typed his name in, saw what popped up. Wasn’t just Harley, his name was tied to Puma before this. That caught my eye. Someone who jumps from sneakers to iconic motorcycles? That’s a story in itself. Made me think, okay, this guy isn’t just a one-trick pony.
So, I started to really dig into his Harley tenure. It wasn’t exactly smooth sailing when he grabbed the handlebars, or so I read. Lots of talk about “challenges” and “needing a new direction.” You hear that a lot with big companies, don’t you? Someone always needs to “shake things up.”
What really got my attention was this “Rewire” strategy he rolled out. Sounded like a fancy corporate buzzword at first. I’ve been around long enough to see plenty of those. But I actually spent some time trying to understand what was under the hood of that plan. It wasn’t just about cutting costs, though there was some of that, for sure. It seemed more like he was trying to strip Harley back to its core, make it more exclusive, more… desirable, I guess. Fewer models, focusing on the big hitters, the ones that really scream ‘Harley’. And then there’s the whole electric LiveWire thing, spinning it off. That takes guts.
I remember thinking about past jobs I’ve had, places where new management came in with big ideas. Sometimes it’s a disaster, just change for the sake of change. But with Zeitz, it felt like there was a deliberate plan, a vision, even if it ruffled some feathers. He wasn’t just moving deck chairs on the Titanic, you know? He was trying to build a different kind of boat, or at least seriously upgrade the engine and patch the holes properly.
This led me down a rabbit hole of looking at how he handled the brand itself. Harley-Davidson, man, that’s not just a motorcycle company, it’s practically a religion for some folks. And he seemed to get that. It’s not just about the metal and rubber; it’s about the feeling, the image. He’d done a number on Puma, taking it from being just another sportswear brand to something with serious street cred. So, I figured he knows a thing or two about brand magic.
My process involved a lot of reading. Interviews with him, articles breaking down his moves, even some of those dry industry analyses. I wanted to see if the actions matched the talk. For the most part, yeah. He doesn’t seem like a guy who’s afraid to make the tough calls. Slimming down the dealer network, pulling out of some markets – those decisions probably didn’t make him Mr. Popular everywhere. But leadership isn’t always a popularity contest, is it?
So, after all this digging and thinking, what’s my take on my little Jochen Zeitz investigation? Well, it showed me that turning around a legend like Harley, or even just keeping it on top, is a monster of a job. You gotta have a clear idea of where you’re going, and you gotta be tough enough to push through the headwinds. And more than anything, you gotta understand the soul of the brand. He seems to be trying to make Harley relevant for the next generation without losing what made it iconic. It’s a balancing act, for sure. Only time will tell if all these moves truly pay off in the long run, but it’s definitely been an interesting ride watching him try.
