More Than a Motorcycle: The Leadership Journey at Harley-Davidson [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

They were there through the ups and downs and they are closer to this organization than anyone can understand, unless of course you read their book. Their book gives you (what this reader beleives) is the "real" story with no punches or marketing hype.

A must read for anyone in business and an honest straight forward dialogue of what it takes to build a collaborative and powerful organization such as Harley-Davidson.

What took you guys so long to get this story out?

If you are a consultant, you might learn a trick or two in what to do and not to do in a large change management engagement.

In addition, Lee's (consultant and co-author) move from consultant to Rich's (CEO and co-author) coach/partner in this journey is particularly interesting. Another interesting topic throughout the book is how to deal with unionized workers.

A GREAT BUY FOR ANY CONSULTANT (strategy, change management, operations, etc.). YOU'LL NEVER LOOK AT A HARLEY THE SAME WAY...

The reviewer, is currently a Senior Director of eBusiness Strategy at Xpedior and has worked at Gemini Consulting, IBM, and General Mills. He earned his MBA from York University and completed the Wharton School Multi-National Marketing and Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering from the University of Toronto.

More than a motorcycle concentrates on the struggles at Harley over the past decade and a half, and how the Company has transformed itself into a learning, and continually self-improving organization...at all levels. At the heart of this transformation are the co-authors, the now retired CEO, and the consultant/coach that together helped to find and pave the path from near ruin to heady success.

The story is presented without boasting, and in fact, spreads credit for the (continuing) tranformation to those who helped define it, from the leadership, to the unions, to the line employees. It is a good lesson in what happens when you ask those closest to the problem, whatever that may be, to help define and solve it. And then ask them what else can and should be solved, and how to do that. But it's about more than just problem solving, its about asking people simple questions like what should be communicated, rather than assuming that you (management) know the answer. In fact, the section of the book that describes communication is, in itself, a good case study.

The story seems to be a fair and introspective chronicle of what went right, where mistakes were made, and how it happened. This is not one of those turnaround books, written by the CEO, telling you what a smart guy he is and how he single-handedly lead the company away from ruin and certain failure. It is a story about leadership and collaboration that can be applied to large and small companies, manufacturers and service organizations alike.

My only complaint with the book is the somewhat awkward transition from a chronology of events and actions, to a componentization of the story. Roughly the first half of the book is presented as a chronological journey, and roughly the second have is a dissection of major sub-stories. The authors warn you that this is going to happen, so clearly they struggled with how to present the information. I would like, however, to have read the whole chronology, and perhaps have the major components presented seperately. But this is the only reason that I didn't give it the full five stars.

This is a good book for both business leaders and consultants. Business leaders will likely find several ideas about how to mine your organization for good ideas and how to implement them. Consultants should find a story about how to work with your clients to ensure that you are providing appropriate services and that these services deliver value.