What Would You Do If You Were In Charge? – Question of the Day
Being the boss means making tough choices
It’s Feb. 28, 2024, which means today is the fourth anniversary of Jochen Zeitz being appointed acting (initially) president and chief executive officer of Harley-Davidson, replacing Matthew Levatich.
Since then, Zeitz has helmed Harley-Davidson, overhauling the company’s business with the Rewire plan, and establishing a 2021-2025 strategic plan called the Hardwire. Through that process, Harley-Davidson made several major changes, including launching its first adventure bike in the Pan America, dropping several long-running models, canceling projects like the Bronx streetfighter, and spinning off LiveWire as a separate entity.
Within the motorcycle industry, no brand draws as strong an emotional reaction – both positive and negative – as Harley-Davidson, so it’s no surprise that reaction to Zeitz’s moves has been just as polarizing. But that’s part of the job of being in charge. Sometimes you have to do what you believe is necessary, even if it’s not popular. Only time will tell if you, or your critics, were right.
But enough about Zeitz. Let’s talk about what you would do in his shoes, Puma or otherwise, or for any other brand besides Harley-Davidson. For today’s Question of the Day, I ask: If you were named CEO for a day of any motorcycle manufacturer of your choosing, and were allowed to greenlight one significant change, what would you do?
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Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
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If I was over Suzuki Bikes, I'd march into the office of Suzuki Car, point out that Mitsubishi is somehow still functioning in the US market and threaten to torch the place unless an order of Jimnys with a turbo option (or Busa motor) weren't set to sail for the port of LA post-haste.
Honda.. how about a transalp 500,,? Suzuki come out of your coma and add a gear and upside down forks on that once great 400. Yamaha How about an under 400 lbs Tenere 500 with cruise control, and finally Kawasaki speed up all you development, Don’t become Suzuki or Honda who’s also fallen into a coma