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

Topics: Branding & Marketing, Leadership, Storytelling, Corporate Culture, Strategy, Business Leadership, Communication, Business, Customer Experience, Elite Performance

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Biography

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Ken Schmidt faced the same challenges in an impersonal world where many products and services are seen as easily-replaced, indistinct commodities. Whether you stand out or get lost in the crowd is a choice. A mindset. He gained acclaim for his role in the extraordinary turnaround of the legendary Harley-Davidson Motor Company.

That transformation was based on a change in mindset and a focus on answering three key strategic questions. While times have changed, what humans want and need from the businesses they buy from and work for hasn’t. 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 make, but for how they connect with people. Ken Schmidt 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. Ken brings an unconventional perspective in all his endeavors that helps organizations and individuals reframe how they engage with their marketplace.

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 world’s most respected, profitable, and frequently reported-on companies.

In 1990, Ken became director of Harley-Davidson’s corporate and financial communications, serving as its primary spokesperson to the media and the financial communities. He frequently appeared in mainstream and business media to offer insights on nontraditional communications, customer attraction, and brand-building. His expertise and success at Harley-Davidson ultimately led to consulting assignments and speaking invitations worldwide.

In 1997, Ken Schmidt 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 Schmidt is co-founder of Torque Sessions Leadership Training. Through a combination of hands-on training and interactive workshops, these sessions help individuals and organizations re-position themselves to become dominant competitors, maximize leadership effectiveness, build a people-first culture of innovation and foster loyalty among customers and employees.

Ken is also the host of the popular podcast Tailgating with Geniuses, wherein he talks with some of the most innovative and successful leaders in various industries to discuss their unique perspectives on leadership, major challenges, and success. Ken’s relatable and engaging hosting style has made the podcast a hit, with listeners looking to learn from the best and achieve their personal and professional goals.

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 techniques he championed at Harley-Davidson. He considers his work on 100 Years of Harley-Davidson, a global best seller, 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 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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Videos

Speech TopicsExpand each topic to learn more

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

“Being known for what you do – no matter how well you do it – makes you a replaceable commodity,” says Ken Schmidt. “Competitive dominance comes when your market knows you for who you are, associates you with positive human attributes and rewards you with their loyalty.” This talk is rooted in the highly unconventional ideas that drove Harley-Davidson’s transformation and unlikely return to dominance, as Ken and his team shifted the company away from its commoditized “product-first” mindset to a fiercely committed “people-first” mindset that takes advantage of key drivers of human behavior. Ken’s high energy, humor, amazing visuals and actionable take-aways abound as he shows businesses of every size and scope how to tap into the behavioral drivers that ignite employee and customer passion, build marketplace preference and fuel tattoo-worthy levels of customer loyalty.

AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS
· Discover the three questions that most directly impact your reputation and competitiveness
· Transform your company mindset toward being known for who you are vs. what you do
· Master how to harness drivers of human behavior to create preference and loyalty
· Uncover the secret to being memorable so customers refer you to others
· Learn the true meaning of misunderstood terms like “customer experience” and “loyalty”

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

What does it take to get your customers to share compelling stories about your business and recommend it to others? Specifically, what would you want them to say? Engaging stories, paired with distinct and unexpected language, are highly memorable and help shape perceptions, boost advocacy, and drive demand. Ken Schmidt knows that powerful stories are essential for distancing your business from competitors and building a rock-solid reputation. In this presentation, Schmidt outlines simple, actionable strategies for companies to develop their own distinctive voice and create stories that resonate, leading to lasting differentiation and loyal, vocal customers. What are your customers saying about you right now?

AUDIENCE TAKEAWAYS
· Elevate the likeability of your business by crafting stories that delight customers
· Uncover the three core elements behind every memorable story that’s ever been told
· Learn how to craft vocabulary that breathes new life into the seemingly familiar or mundane
· Find your three most memorable and distinguishing storylines
· Discover simple tools that encourage employees to become storyteller

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

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

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

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

– GE Healthcare Partners

Your keynote was very well received. Lots of enthusiasm and discussion generated – exactly what we wanted.

– BOMBADIER COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT

Your speech was incredible – nothing but stellar comments.

– TAPPI

Your message, tone, and energy were just the ticket. Great comments. We are just thrilled.

– THE CENTER FOR HEALTH DESIGN

Set the tone for our meeting and delivered an outstanding call to action – became part of our language through the rest of the session.

– WESTROCK

Absolutely LOVED your presentation! Reviews from the audience were wonderful.

– RETAIL SOLUTIONS PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION

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

You crushed it!

– EMPIRE SPORTS MANAGEMENT

Great job. Very entertaining delivery and meaningful connectivity. Thanks for putting in the time.

– VALASSIS

The feedback was unanimously positive. Made us all think about what we are currently doing and question ourselves as to why and how we can do better.

– CAPITAS FINANCIAL, INC.

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