Today, for the vast majority of American motorcycle enthusiasts, Harley Davidson is known

as the King of America's Roads.

However, in 1985, the iconic brand found itself within just hours of bankruptcy, overwhelmed

by the Japanese competition, the recession that had hit America, and the onslaught of management

missteps, the company needed to change something if it was going to survive.

In 1985, the company did just that.

In 1985, Ken Schmidt was hired as the company's chief communication officer, and was charged

with communicating to both customers and potential investors alike, while trying to work with

the leadership team to find a new strategy and a path for survival.

Ladies and gentlemen, without any further ado, it is my pleasure to introduce to you,

my good friend, Ken Schmidt.

Some shows don't need a celebrity narrator to introduce the show, but this show dies.

Two men, eight kids co-created by two different women, 13 multi-million dollar businesses,

ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the thrine time show.

In 1985, when Ken Schmidt joined Harley Davidson as their chief communications officer,

the company was making bikes that were actually winning awards, so they were buying into

the lie that a great product will sell itself.

They won the quality awards, they were focusing on quality, quality, quality, but they weren't

selling anything, they weren't making a profit, and that is where Ken started.

So ladies and gentlemen, let's hear from Mr. Ken Schmidt.

So Ken, you started from the bottom when the company had great bikes, but you weren't making

any money, how did you fix it?

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