Harley-Davidson Motor Company was my client for seven years, and during that time, I completely fell for the brand. The culture, the image, the long history: it all pulls you in. I bought the merch, and I even have a section of my closet devoted to Harley t-shirts. I made it a point to stop into Harley dealerships whenever I traveled, whether for work or on vacation. I immersed myself in motorcycle events and rallies whenever I could, soaking in the energy and community of riders. And eventually, I signed up for Harley’s Riding Academy and spent a weekend earning my motorcycle endorsement
Even the most magnetic brands face headwinds, and for Harley, I had a front-row seat. In 2017, they announced a 10-year plan: More Roads to Harley-Davidson. Part of my role was helping to shape and roll out marketing strategies. Their core customer base continued to shrink as it got older and was no longer being replaced. Younger riders, in particular, showed little interest in Harley's traditional large, expensive cruisers, preferring instead the smaller, cheaper, and more agile motorcycles offered by Asian and European manufacturers.
More Roads, Missed Turns
Harley-Davidson’s More Roads to Harley-Davidson plan aimed to grow the U.S. rider base by 2 million. It also hoped to expand internationally, launch dozens of new motorcycles, and enter new categories like electric vehicles, e-bikes, and even kids’ trikes. Harley’s motorcycle sales by 2017 had declined 33% from their peak in 2006, at the same time the average customer age reached the upper forties. The goal was to reverse the decline and start scaling again.
The plan was bold, ambitious, and inspiring, but it stumbled in two major ways:
- Lack of urgency: A 10-year horizon created drift and slowed momentum.
- Diluted focus: Resources were spread across too many experiments, from LiveWire (H-D’s first electric motorcycle) to balance bikes, pulling the brand away from its core. Instead of modernizing the brand and deepening engagement with new riders, Harley added complexity that slowed momentum.
The result? Without urgency, alignment, and focus, Harley wasn’t able to turn ambition into growth.
Enter The Science of Scaling
While reading Dr. Benjamin Hardy and Blake Erickson's The Science of Scaling (2025), I couldn’t help but see how their argument directly addresses Harley’s ongoing challenges. Their framework emphasizes mindset and clarity over tactical sprawl, built around three core principles:
1. Frame: Set Impossible Goals with Impossible Timelines Your goals shape your perception and actions. By setting goals that are audacious and far beyond current capabilities, you’re forced to think differently, prioritize effectively, and eliminate distractions. Just as importantly, Hardy and Erickson emphasize committing to a timeline so short it feels impossible. The combination of impossible goals and impossible timelines drives bold action and prevents stagnation.
- Harley’s Frame Misstep: While the scale of the goals was audacious, the 10-year timeline undercut urgency. Hardy and Erickson’s principle stresses impossible timelines to drive fast iteration, but Harley’s long horizon allowed for drift and slowed momentum.
2. Floor: Raise Your Standards Scaling requires raising your expectations for what is worthy of your time and focus. Hardy and Erickson stress eliminating inefficiencies, distractions, and low-value activities that don’t align with your mission. By saying “no” more often and cutting out unscalable or misaligned work, you free up capacity for higher-leverage actions. This isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about intentionally creating an environment where only activities that move the needle remain.
- Harley’s Floor Misstep: Instead of raising standards by cutting distractions, Harley spread its resources across too many experiments.Rather than sharpening focus and building momentum toward its bold new goals, these diversions ultimately lowered the standard.
3. Focus: Simplify and Systematize Scaling isn’t about doing more. It’s about focusing energy on the few things that matter most and ensuring they can scale through repeatable systems. Hardy and Erickson encourage companies to streamline operations, reduce complexity, and build processes that compound momentum. Sustainable growth comes from clarity of priorities and creating systems that work without constant reinvention.
- Harley’s Focus Misstep: Instead of simplifying around its boldest priorities, such as modernizing the lifestyle brand and engaging the next generation of riders, Harley layered on complexity. With dozens of product launches and fragmented market bets, the company created operational sprawl. Without clear systems to unify marketing, dealer engagement, and customer experience, Harley’s efforts remained fragmented, preventing the kind of compounding momentum Hardy and Erickson describe.
The Reset: Rewire and Hardwire
By 2020, it was clear the 10-year plan was not working. Harley hit the brakes and launched a revised strategic plan called Rewire, a reset focused on survival and cutting costs as COVID accelerated six straight years of declining sales with a 17 percent drop. A year later came Hardwire, a five-year plan that was more about profitability, desirability, and simplifying the portfolio.
In other words, they shifted to Hardy and Erickson’s playbook: shorter timelines, sharper focus, and a clear path forward.
What’s Next
Harley is at another turning point. Arthur Starrs (former CEO of Topgolf) has stepped in as CEO and Matt Reintjes (President and CEO of Yeti) just joined the board. That’s fresh leadership and fresh perspective.
If Harley is going to reverse its continued decline and start scaling successfully again, the playbook looks something like this:
- Expand internationally with strategic focus. Leveraging Artie Starrs’ experience growing TopGolf across Europe and Asia, Harley can tap into the multi-billion dollar international motorcycle market, estimated at $144 billion in 2024 and projected to grow to over $288 billion by 2033. Strategic global expansion could fuel growth and offset domestic challenges, including Harley’s steepest first-half sales drop in a century, 36% in North America versus a 10% decline across the U.S. market.
- Modernize and deepen its lifestyle brand. Harley-Davidson is already a lifestyle brand, but to thrive today, it needs to evolve. Drawing on Matt Reintjes’ experience at Yeti, Harley can highlight rider adventures over technical specs, ambassador programs, and consistent omni-channel engagement. A modern CRM strategy can amplify this by tailoring communications to different rider segments, tracking engagement across digital and in-person touch points, and making every interaction feel personal and meaningful.
- Strengthen community and dealer alignment. Harley can reinforce its iconic dealer network and fan base by framing ownership as part of a lifestyle or movement. Core riders and new audiences should expect a seamless, personalized Harley experience, whether they are online, at a rally, or visiting a local dealer. CRM is key to this effort, as connecting dealership data, digital interactions, and rider communities ensures that new products and initiatives resonate with the right audiences.
- Focus innovation with heritage in mind. New product and technology investments should be tightly focused on core strengths while attracting the next generation, balancing tradition with forward-looking relevance.
The Road Ahead
The More Roads is a great reminder that scaling takes more than vision. It takes speed, focus, and alignment.
With their 2020 and 2021 Rewire and Hardwire plans, Harley-Davidson has an opportunity to apply Hardy and Erickson’s lessons and write the next iconic chapter. And if they get it right, the road ahead could be as legendary as their past.
