Speaking in the absence of club president Andrew Newbold, who is on an AFL-funded trip to the United States to research the topic, Harris claimed both Collingwood and the Hawks have shown it is possible to self-rejuvenate.
"Collingwood in the early 2000's was last and broke before Eddie McGuire, and Mick Malthouse became coach," Harris said on Saturday.
"It's now a powerhouse with minimal AFL handouts."
Harris also referred to Hawthorn's ability to rebuild, thanks to the appointment of Ian Robson to chief executive, Alastair Clarkson as coach, and Jeff Kennett as president.
As for the playing group, Harris said the club's off-season trips to the Kokoda track quickly built the required mateship.
"We worked on the club's culture by sending the entire list off to Kokoda, all 44 of them," Harris said.
"We sleep deprived them, we physically smashed them, and we found out who the real leaders of the football club were and created a real bond."
The AFL is considering introducing taxes to reduce the divide between the rich and poor clubs, which Harris says the Hawks would not sign off on.
"Be assured good management, stable administration, good governance and entrepreneurial leadership are the bedrock of sustained success for clubs, and cannot be replaced by taxes et al on successful clubs and taxes on fans on game day prices," he said.
"Otherwise we may as well hand over our keys to the AFL and give them the running of our clubs and avoid striving for excellence."
Jacqui Reed is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @JacquiReedAFL
