Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/422004
www.PowersportsBusiness.com SOLUTIONS Powersports Business • December 1, 2014 • 33 FRONT LINE VS. MANAGER In the days of our Lemco management programs, we used to run an exercise asking people what different dealer- ship employees think about on a day-to-day basis. With four group exercises, students would make their own lists resembling the following, starting with the dealer principal. Absorption. Allocation. Expansion. Families of employees. Community perception. Protection from legal matters. Tax implications. New facility. Next was a general manager. Percent to goal on annual goals. How much is being spent in advertising? Growing manag- ers. CSI scores. OEM relations. Then came a departmental manager. Recruiting & staffing. Inventory turns. Irate customers. Monthly events. Monthly goals. And lastly came the front line employee. Individual paycheck. This sale. This empty peg. This customer. What time he gets off today. Employees are not defying you, nor are they stupid. Bottom line was that employees simply don't operate with the same perspective as the owner or GM. You can't fault them for not thinking of the big picture, as they simply don't have the same perspective. INFINITE HERO As of this article, I am four months into rehab- bing some significant ankle surgery. I was "non- weight bearing" on that leg for three months, of which six weeks had me in a cast with my leg at 90-degrees behind me. Yeah, it sucked. I'd hobble along with my i-Walk crutch that may as well have doubled for a pirate's peg leg. Two weeks after surgery I was asked to attend an event sponsored by Oakley called the Infinite Hero Foundation. This is an organiza- tion that not only raises money for wounded U.S. veterans, but actually re-acclimates them into society through sports and fitness. Also, donations are 100 percent transparent and trackable to the penny, with less than 10 per- cent of the funds being used to run the pro- gram. So I'm sitting at this event at a local drag strip with this crazy cast on my leg, somewhat feeling sorry for myself as I lack the freedom to walk around and enjoy the race-like environ- ment. That was until I saw paralyzed helicopter pilot Gary Linfoot walk (yes, walk) up to the stage in a pneumatically powered exoskeleton suit that Oakley built for him. He was paralyzed with a severed spinal cord after his helicopter was shot down in Iraq, and he was walking to the stage. He spoke about how some days he can stand and give a speech, while other days it's all he can do to make it to the kitchen. I slowly pushed my peg-leg under the table in hopes that nobody would see this Sam-guy with what now amounts to a little boo-boo on his leg. I can't tell you how many days I have to start my day at 5 a.m. East Coast time, where I'm then landing on Pacific time after mid- night. As a result of meeting Gary Linfoot, I have a hard time hearing from employees how they had to stay until 9 p.m. to deliver a bike. "Oh, wow! Are you OK? You sure? You gonna make it?" PERSPECTIVE, people. STREET 500 AND 750 Harley has launched two smaller displacement models, which have been met with under- whelming reviews from the dealer body. The most common comment I hear is, "It doesn't have the fit & finish of a Harley." Well maybe it wasn't supposed to … ever think about that? Internally most H-D fans dream of touring bikes, integrated radios, diamond-cut heads and parts dripping with chrome. No, the Street models certainly aren't that. They are simple, edgy, rough and almost dirty. Look around, H-D enthusiasts. Look at the simplistic café racer craze. Ducati launched the Scrambler that looks nothing like your perception of a Ducati. Triumph Bonnevilles reign supreme, and BMW can't keep the Nine-T in stock. Simple, edgy — almost dirty racers. The Street models are really cool if you understand them! You killed the VRod internally before customers had a chance to love it or not. You did it again with the Blackline. Triumph employees have a hard time selling cruisers because most are not cruiser guys, no matter how enticing that market share. Grab yourself a Thunderbird LT instead of a Thruxton for your next demo, and find out the attraction for yourself. Get out of your box and change your perspective as to what the bike is and who it's meant for. It doesn't matter that you don't like it. Embrace it for what it is. A buddy of mine once said, "When you have a disagreement with someone, there are three ways to look at anything — his way, my way, and the truth. The truth tends to lie somewhere in the middle." Before you vent, try to look at it a different way. Then come up with your solution. PSB Sam Dantzler is the founder of Sam's Powers- ports Garage, a membership website dedicated to best practices and all-staff training. He can be reached at sam@samspowersportsgarage.com. Perspective often lacking, yet vitally important SAM DANTZLER HEADROOM For bikes like Harley-Davidson's Street 500, it pays for dealers to look at them in a different way.