Harley-Davidson Motor Company

PriSim® developed a custom business laboratory for Harley-Davidson titled “Redline^TM“. In the Redline^TM course, attendees lead and manage a simulated motorcycle dealership in competition with other teams. More than 1,000 Harley-Davidson corporate and dealership staff have tested and improved their business skills through the small, medium, and large-market versions of Redline^TM. The course has been translated into seven languages, and run on four continents over the past six years.

“I had my entire field team experience the Redline simulation. The benefits were two-fold: we learned about the complexities of managing a dealership, and it provided a team building opportunity. The friendly competition was a catalyst for everyone to work as a team to “win”. The [Instructor's] facilitation and teaching style made this a wonderful learning opportunity.”

- Director, Service Strategy and Technical Communications, July 2011

“The Redline^TM business simulation provides the staff from the Harley-Davidson dealer network with a unique opportunity to run a dealership over a two and a half day period. Department managers gain an understanding of how they fit in the total dealership operation and how their day-to-day decisions impact other departments and the dealership bottom line. Dealer Principals are able to use the simulation to test strategic scenarios for their business and discuss strategies for tuning up their operations and the potential short and long-term impacts of selecting those strategies.

An often quoted idea from the class is that we are aiming to teach the dealership leadership team ‘to spend more time working on the business as opposed to working in the business’. This course is unlike any other that is currently offered by Harley-Davidson University. The simulation is a real action-learning experience that allows each student to fill the gaps in their knowledge in a team based environment, be it how to read financial statements, complete a business plan, or understand the basic principals for managing a particular dealership function successfully. The Redline ^TM business simulation experience never fails to captivate and enlighten participants.”

- Manager, Business Operations Training, February 2003

“The Team benefited from the PriSim® exercise in several ways. The hardware and software elements performed in excess of our expectations. This demonstrated that such products can make a positive contribution to a learning experience. The format enabled great interaction and group dynamics. This not only led to higher levels of student involvement, and bolstered the esprit de corps of the entire Team, but furthered their conviction that this type of approach, when professionally prepared and delivered, can work for them in their field consultations. The most beneficial outcome was the ability of the exercise to broaden the perspective and improve the financial skill base of our Team of Service Operations specialists. Their ability to gain the confidence and empathy of the dealer principals they call on has been enhanced. They will bring a more balanced, cross-functional approach to problem solving during all their consultations.“

- Director, Service Operations, November 2002

“I just wanted to let you know that Redline^TM was the most intense, challenging, and rewarding course that I ever participated in over the eleven years of HDU. Your preparation and presentation was fantastic! I have highly recommended it to every dealer principal that I have spoken with about HDU 2002. I hope that the Motor Co. decides to offer Redline^TM to dealer principals and G.Ms in future management training.”

- Dealer Principal, February 2002

“This program was one of the best we have ever run. I have never seen participants engage themselves so completely with the material. We had to drag them away from the room at the end of the first day. All participants felt that it had increased their knowledge and ability to understand their own business and the forces acting upon it. It gave us a chance to address gaps in the participants’ knowledge on an individual level while at the same time having fun. This course was evaluated the highest I have ever seen by a usually highly-critical audience.”

- Manager, Business Development, January 2002

“The Redline^TM Business Simulation is a powerful and effective business-enhancement tool. The time-honored recipe of lectures, group exercises, and hands-on application was rendered even more savory by the dynamic presentations and the spirit of friendly competition. We worked with real world (motorcycle dealership) challenges and received instant gratification in a powerful visual format. Did we hire more technicians to handle the increased demand for service, but pay insufficient attention to market based remuneration, training, shop facilities, and admin support? Profits and CSI went down and attrition went up. Redline^TM forced us to think holistically about the business. I would recommend this offering from PriSim® without hesitation, knowing that the benefits will show up on your bottom line.”

- Manager, Business Development, Canada Division, December 2001