Ken Schmidt

Customer Loyalty Expert; Reputation and Brand-building Authority; Senior Role in Harley-Davidson Turnaround; and Author, Make Some Noise: The Unconventional Road to Dominance
Ken
Schmidt

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AVAILABLE FOR

Keynote
Virtual Presentation
Fireside Chat
Panels
Workshop & Training
Webinar

Fee ranges

Domestic In-Person (USA):

$20,001 - $30,000*

International In-Person:

Please inquire

Virtual:

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Other:

* Ranges are presented as a guideline only. Speaker fees vary by engagement type and are subject to change without notice. For an exact quote, please contact Gravity Speakers.

Traveling from

Washington, DC, USA

About

It’s an impersonal, copycat world, where so many products and services are seen as easily replaced, indistinct commodities. Standing out is a choice fueled by the right mindset and a willingness to tackle complacency. Ken Schmidt knows these challenges firsthand and gained acclaim for his role in the extraordinary turnaround of the legendary Harley-Davidson Motor Company. Ken helped transform the company’s competitiveness by proposing three key strategic questions and shifting its narrative to distinguish their brand.

While times have changed, what humans want and need from the businesses they buy from and work for hasn’t. But most businesses don't know how to capitalize on those basic human needs and leverage them for competitive advantage. In his high-energy speeches, Ken inspires companies and individuals to shift their thinking and ride a path to success by becoming memorable – not for what they do or what they make, but who they are. Because when customers can't associate human qualities with a business, they're quick to jump to lower-priced alternatives.

Ken is author of Make Some Noise: The Unconventional Road to Dominance. He’s also host of the Tailgating with Geniuses podcast and co-founder of Torque Sessions Leadership Training. In all of his endeavors, Ken brings an unconventional perspective that helps organizations and individuals reframe how they engage with their marketplace. And have fun doing it.

Ken Schmidt’s career in the motorcycle industry began in 1985 as a specialist in corporate positioning and media relations for the then-struggling Harley-Davidson. He was tasked with helping the company restore its image, improve its competitiveness, and create demand for its motorcycles. Within a few short years, sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles skyrocketed, and the company returned to prominence as one of the most respected, profitable, and frequently reported-on companies in the world.

In 1990, Ken became director of Harley-Davidson’s corporate and financial communications, working directly with the company’s CEO and CFO to radically reposition every aspect of the company’s go-to-market strategies to move the company from its historic product-first mentality to its now-famous people-first mentality. Serving as Harley’s primary spokesperson to the media and the financial communities, he frequently appeared in mainstream and business media to offer insights on leveraging human behavioral drivers to attract customers, build loyalty, and foster passionately vocal marketplace advocacy.

His expertise and success at Harley-Davidson ultimately led to consulting assignments and speaking invitations from all over the world. In 1997, Ken left Harley-Davidson to take an ownership position with a highly successful Chicago-based marketing firm, VSA Partners. In addition to Harley-Davidson, VSA served a virtual who’s who of the world’s best-known brands. In 1999, he sold his portion of VSA to start his own business, Ken Schmidt Company, to combine two of his greatest passions: motorcycling and speaking. He uses motorcycles as a metaphor to expose people to proven ideas and concepts they’ve likely never imagined.

In addition to speaking and consulting, Ken is co-founder of Torque Sessions Leadership Training and is also the host of the popular podcast Tailgating with Geniuses, wherein he talks with some of the most innovative and successful leaders in a variety of industries to discuss their unique perspectives on leadership, major challenges, and success. Ken authored Make Some Noise: The Unconventional Road to Dominance, which gives business leaders an easy-to-follow roadmap for improving their competitiveness, using many of the techniques he championed at Harley-Davidson.

He considers his work on 100 Years of Harley-Davidson, a global bestseller, to be one of his greatest and most rewarding achievements. After all he has accomplished, Ken remains committed to his philosophy of standing out, taking risks, and having fun in both his personal and professional life. He says, “Never do what’s expected, make yourself as noticeably different as possible, and have a lot more fun than you’re supposed to.”

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Topics

Topics

Make Some Noise: Change Directions, Open The Throttle and Dominate Your Marketplace

Rev Up Your Reputation: Be Memorable, Preferred and Talked About

Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyK27Skn6sg
Meet Ken Schmidt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5c30YHO8KU
Ken Schmidt: Harley-Davidson's Rise From Failure to Dominance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukbuS1qLwvA
Ken Schmidt: Improving Competitiveness By Changing Vocabulary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAZHdFKfTBY
Ken Schmidt: Reputation 101 -- Remember & Repeat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJGqeY875GM
Ken Schmidt: Be Known For Who You Are Not What You Do
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4d1432MT_c
Ken Schmidt: 3 Things That Drive Human Behavior

Books / Movies As an Amazon Associate, Gravity earns from qualifying purchases.

Testimonials

“Ken was amazing and our participants were extremely inspired and motivated by his keynote. Outstanding talk – off the charts. There was enormous buzz around his messages and, of course, we really enjoyed the delivery.”

Intel

“There were so many good take-aways, participants were talking about it the following day. Thanks for all the advanced prep work you did.”

Pacific Life Insurance Company

“Scored higher than any other speaker and I had to quit cutting and pasting superlatives out of the verbatim section. The pleasure was all ours.”

Ford Motor Company

“Ken Schmidt was the perfect addition to our event. Ken exceeded our expectations and was incredibly knowledgeable about the topics presented.”

GE Healthcare Partners

“Incredibly dynamic and engaging! Had the crowd at times stunned, introspective, puzzled, very amused, but predominantly learning! His ability to draw these emotions from the crowd made his points that much more memorable.”

Consumer Electronics Association (CES) Industry Forum

“Seeing Ken in New Orleans in 2020 before the world fell apart changed my entire perspective on business and, to be fair, life! I returned from that trip and my work team said “what happened to you?” My wife said, “who are you, this is amazing!” - 30 minutes, that was all. A keynote delivery like no other and 100% on board”

QMS

“Terrific. Not only did Ken give a powerful speech that got people’s attention, but he was such a down to earth, easy going, fun to be around kinda guy.”

Motorola

“You absolutely ‘wowed’ our audience and created a buzz among industry leaders. Incredible energy -- on message – engaging! The overwhelming majority of participants were ‘delighted’ with your session.”

PNC Global Investment Servicing

“I overheard several people saying that you were the best keynote speaker they've ever heard. I'm not exaggerating - those were their exact words!”

eCopy, Inc.

“Outstanding! Also a very nice gentleman!”

National Portable Storage Association

“Your message content and delivery were fantastic! Spot-on for our positioning today in the marketplace!”

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield