Introduction: Summer Internship at Harley-Davidson

I am a first year MBA at the Ross School of Business, originally from Goa, India. I will be interning at Harley-Davidson Motor Company this summer in their Leadership Development Program (LDP). The internship acts as a feeder into their full-time LDP program, which is a rotational program that hones management graduates into general managers. During the LDP, you can choose the functions and assignments you would like to work in, and also the duration of the total LDP. At the end of the LDP, you emerge as Director of the function of your choosing.

My internship assignment is to create a go-forward strategy for HD's Next Generation Personalization (NGP) initiative. NGP is a means for HD to build stronger one-to-one relationships with their customers by enabling them to create a one-to-one motorcycle, thereby deepening their emotional connection to their bikes. My role is to help HD develop a formal strategic approach that optimizes the balance of customer service, minimized waste, individualized product offerings, and complexity concerns for the organization.

I am excited not only about the project, which is a huge jump for HD in their customer marketing strategy, but also about working at HD. The company has a great working culture, where everyone I've met has been friendly, intelligent and humble. I am most excited about the free HD riding lessons and gear that all interns are provided during the internship.

I fully expect this summer internship to be a roller-coaster ride, mainly because of how different it is from my previous experiences. I have worked for 8 years before joining Ross, primarily as a Consultant. I have never worked in ‘industry’ before, as the consultants call any work outside of consulting! I am completely new to the manufacturing industry, and what’s more have never ridden a bike in my life! So I am trying to re-invent myself with this internship.

Watch out for more details about my sojourn at HD in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this summer.