Michael Dell (1) (1965–)

I thought Dell was an ancient company like IBM but I was disabused!

Dell was founded ten years after Microsoft by Michael Dell in his dorm at UT Austin. Dell's book covers most of Dell (the company) history from that time to now. The book pays close attention to the first ten years from founding to 2B in yearly revenue; and then also the period from 2013 to now when Dell went private and acquired EMC and VMWare.

It is especially interesting to note the massive sales (growth) from day one and show more also how crowded the field was throughout the entire time Dell has existed.

It is excellently edited, Dell's character and sense of humor come through well. The only exception to the editing quality is the last chapter describing Dell's thoughts for the future. It wasn't very meaningful.

Overall, a great book and chance to learn from the man himself about one of the biggest IT/hardware companies in the last few decades. show less

After an interesting riff through the early history of Dell, this book trails off into management-guru platitudes. Dare I mutter the word's "ghost-writer"?

Better than average business book. But not by much. Michael Dell writes about his experiences in creating a multi-billion dollar enterprise that is known to us as Dell Corporation. The creation of this entity is impressive.

I found the history behind what he did to be quite interesting. He gives semi-detailed accounts of what he felt was key turning points in his life and his career. The book is divided into two sections. Part 1 is the history aspect of the life and times of Michael Dell and show more the Dell Corporation. Part two is identification of some of the key moments in his life and of Dell Corporation with a self help synopsis at the end of each chapter.

While the insights are helpful, they are really 50,000 foot overviews and very generic. The only specifics you will get out of this is if you are in the PC Building type of business where the notes are very specific to this type of business. If you are in a management type of position, this book will give you good insights on what works for Michael Dell. And as they say, most times you don't need to innovate success, just repeat other peoples success.

I plan to re-read part 2 and go over it with a fine tooth comb to glean the information listed in these pages. However, after this, I plan to make this book available and will be releasing it shortly. show less

3.5 Lot of good leadership nuggets. Good to see the private back to public progression through Dell’s eyes.