Rediscovering its Purpose

In late 1975, AMF appointed a new head for Harley-Davidson: Vaughn Beals, a former aeronautical engineer and CEO of a Seattle company that manufactured large engines and logging equipment. Beals set out to improve Harley’s quality control, with some success, but at significant cost to the bottom line.

He pulled together a group of senior managers to forge a longterm strategy for the company. Together, in an off-site meeting that was a clear example of ‘creative rehearsal’ – working collaboratively to find new solutions to significant challenges – they devised the company’s first-ever ten-year plan to upgrade manufacturing capabilities and refresh its product range.⁵⁸

The company was rediscovering its purpose: to make high quality, exciting and reliable motorcycles that delivered a sense of freedom and exhilaration.

But first, Harley-Davidson had to survive the next ten years. It needed, urgently, to start delighting its audience again.