Direct from Dell: Strategies that Revolutionized an Industry (Collins Business Essentials) [Paperback]

Michael Dell (Author), Catherine Fredman (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 3, 2006 | Series: Collins Business Essentials

At nineteen, Michael Dell started his company as a freshman at the University of Texas with $1,000 and has since built an industry powerhouse. As Dell journeys through his childhood adventures, ups and downs, and mistakes made along the way, he reflects on invaluable lessons learned.

Michael Dell's revolutionary insight has allowed him to persevere against all odds, and Direct from Dell contains valuable information for any business leader. His strategies will show you effective ways to grow your business and will help you save time on costly mistakes by following his direct model for success.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The chair and CEO of Dell, the world's largest direct computer company, explains his success.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'The thing that sets Dell apart is its ability to do exactly what the competition tends to believe cannot be done' Businessweek --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: HarperBusiness; Reprint edition (January 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060845724
• ISBN-13: 978-0060845728
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #600,930 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a treasure trove of information for business leaders October 10, 2000

By M. H. Bayliss

Format:Paperback

This is a terrific book for anyone who aspires to run or lead a business. Dell writes entertainingly about his childhood adventures -- not many teenagers were enterprising enough to research how to find all newly married couples and all people who took out mortgages in order to sell newspaper subscriptions! He was making an annual salary higher than most of his teachers just from his summer activities. His parents should have known they were in for trouble. The first part of the book is devoted to how he founded his business with $1000 of start up money and then all the ups, downs, and mistakes they made along the way. It is encouraging to read that it's not the mistakes that matter, but how quickly you acknowledge and address them that count.

The second part of the book has tremendously practical advice for almost any company. Why make the same mistakes that you could avoid by following his model for success? I daresay there is enough solid information here for any informed person to put into practice what Dell did to make a successful business. After having read a series of books on leadership, I can say that this is one of the most practical and hands-on ones as well as one of the most interesting.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Proven strategies - from the world's richest person under 40 November 4, 2000

By Mr Tri I Suseno

Format:Paperback

This book's materials have been written by a person who has proven that the strategies do work. How come? He is the world's richest person under 40 worth at around US $21 billion in September 2000 (According to the Fortune magazine).

The materials are very practical and inspiring. However they tend to be mentioned quite repetitively. Dell's business model can be broken into its 3 golden rules: 1. Disdain inventory 2. Always listen to the customer 3. Never sell indirect

The book is divided into 2 parts: Part 1: places the context of Dell's history chronologically

- Chapter 1 and 2 outline Dell's early experiences with business opportunities (not just computers) and the early days of Dell Computer Corporation

- Chapters 3 and 4 outlines Dell's first setback (due to growing too fast) and how it has learnt from it (by expanding its focus from just growth to profitability, liquidity and growth)

- Chapter 5 shows some key lessons that Dell learnt during the early 90s, including understanding that facts are your friend, getting outside help (Dell got Bain's help) for objectivity and emphasising the planning function as a key element of its strategy

- Chapter 6 outlines further lessons such as dividing the company into profit centres by segmenting customers meticulously. Once profit and loss of various parts of the business are known, Dell understood that it should enter into the server business, which they then did

- Chapter 7 outlines Dell's extension into the internet and how that has been successful

Part 2: summarises the lessons learnt from Dell's history that could be applicable to other industries

- Chapters 8 and 9 outline the importance of choosing the right people and how to reward & motivate them (by linking reward to objective profitability measures; this can only be done once P&L of various segments of the business are worked out)

- Chapters 10 and 11 outline the importance of getting close to your customers - no matter what!

- Chapters 12 and 13 outline the importance of working together with suppliers to bring inventories down - focus on win-win partnering and not just 'screwing' the suppliers!

- Chapters 14 outlines the importance to be understand what differentiates you from your competitors

- Chapter 15 summarises Michael Dell's thoughts on the future state of the computer industry and the internet

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dell #1 PC Maker in the World! About time May 5, 2001

By [e-mail]

Format:Paperback

Glad to see that Dell is now officially the #1 PC maker in the World following up on being the #1 in the World in workstations last fall and #1 in the USA for PCs in October 1999.I was reading a Wall Street Journal article about Dell and was impressed to see the generous compensation that Dell offers it's employees. MD definitely knows that people, including employees have value.Good to see Dells high ranking in Laptops in PC World. I wouldn't be surprised to see Dell topple Sony for the #1 spot in Laptops. Certaintly beating Compaq must be getting boring by now for Dell.Oh by the way, congratulations to Dell for taking the US server market from Compaq too.The book is excellent and a must read for any serious business reader.