MICHAEL DELL
Michael Dell -Teen to Tycoon
Introduction
Michael Dell was born on 23 February 1965 in Houston to a Jewish family. His father, Alexander Dell, was an orthodontist while his mother Lorraine Charlotte , was a stockbroker.
He received his primary education from Herod Elementary School in Houston. He was a bright young boy who learned several aspects of financial affairs from his stockbroker mother and developed an early interest in business.
He loved earning money and took up a variety of odd jobs as a teenager. He also sold his stamp collection for $2000 which was a huge sum for a young boy. Unusually mature and enterprising for his age, he invested his earnings in stocks and precious metals.
During his teenage years he was drawn towards technology and got his first computer when he was 15. He disassembled it to study the components and see how it worked.
While studying at Memorial High School in Houston, he started selling subscriptions to the 'Houston Post' in the summer holidays. He realized that the method of making cold calls was not much effective and devised a new marketing plan which proved to be more successful. Within a year he earned $18,000, which was higher than what some of his school teachers earned in a year.
Carrer
Michael Dell knew from a young age that he wanted to be an entrepreneur. However, his parents wanted him to become a physician and thus he enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin, in 1983.
Even as a pre-med student he did not give up on his entrepreneurial dreams. He started an informal business from his residential room, assembling and selling upgrade kits for personal computers. His business performed very well and before long he decided to drop out in order to devote more time to his business. Career
PC's Limited
Michael Dell registered his company as "PC's Limited" in January 1984. In May 1984, he changed the name of the company to Dell Computer Corporation. By now his business had grown to include a few employees to take and fill orders and upgrade basic machines.
Dell emphasized on customer focus and made quality products and excellent customer service his priorities. His convictions paid off and the company's sales grew manifold in the months to come. By 1985, the company also began to design and build computers with purchased components.
In 1986, Dell introduced a 12-megahertz 286 processor—the fastest personal computer at that time. The price of this product compared favorably with a competing computer by IBM, and it became a huge success. The product gained excellent performance reviews and the company's sales surged to $60 million that year.
The company's profits skyrocketed over the next few years and by 1992, the company was ranked in Fortune magazine's list of the top 500 corporations. Dell, aged just 27 at that time was the CEO of one of the most successful companies in the world.
During the 1990s, Dell realized the need to have an online presence and launched www.dell.com in 1994. Online pricing was introduced in 1995 and by 1996 the company was making online sales. Soon the internet sales reached about $1 million per day which rose to $50 million per day in 2000.
Dell launched its first servers in 1996 and storage products in 1998. In 1998, he also founded the MSD Capital L.P. to manage his family's investment activities which include publicly traded securities, private equity activities, and real estate.
Michael Dell stepped down as CEO of the company in 2004 though he retained his position as chairman. He returned as CEO in 2007 at the request of the board.
He came under considerable scrutiny in 2010 when Dell Inc. agreed to pay a $100 million penalty to settle charges of accounting fraud that had been filed by the Security and Exchange Commission in relation to undisclosed payments from Intel Corporation.
Major Works
He is the founder of the computer technology company, Dell Inc., which is one of the largest technological corporations in the world, employing more than 103,300 people worldwide. Internationally renowned for its innovations in supply chain management and electronic commerce, Dell Inc. is currently the No. 1 shipper of PC monitors in the world.
Personal Life
Michael Dell is a shy person who likes to maintain his privacy. He is married to Susan Lynn Lieberman since 1989, and the couple has four children.
Philanthropic Works
Along with his wife Susan, Michael Dell established the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation in 1999. The foundation focuses on causes like urban education, childhood health and family economic stability, and has provided $65 million in grants to three health-related organizations. The foundation had committed more than $650 million to children's issues and community initiatives in the United States, India and South Africa by 2010.
Net Worth
As of 2020, Michael Dell has a net worth of US $30 billion
Lesson's to Learn
1. Be strategic
2. Embrace risk like a startup
3. Learn from mistakes
4. Surround yourself with the best people
5. Develop a customer-focused philosophy
6. Build byte by byte
7. Cultivate relationships
Inspiring Quotes;-
"You don't have to be a genius or a visionary or even a college graduate to be successful. You just need a framework and a dream. ",
"You can't be afraid to fail because that's when you learn. ",
"Try never to be the smartest person in the room. And if you are, I suggest you invite smarter people…or find a different room. ",
"The point is, you can't keep doing the same thing and expect it to keep working.",
"There's always an opportunity to make a difference. ",
"Regrets are born of paths never taken.",
"Our business is about technology, yes. But it's also about operations and customer relationships. ",
"There is no better catalyst to success than curiosity.",
"Each day that you're moving toward your dreams without compromising who you are, you're winning.",
"By questioning all the aspects of our business, we continuously inject improvement and innovation into our culture.",
"Anything that can be measured can be improved.",
"If you have to go through life being unhappy to conform to society around you, that's not a very good deal.",
"Whether you've found your calling, or if you're still searching, passion should be the fire that drives your life's work. ",
"We are all gifts to each other, and my own growth as a leader has shown me again and again that the most rewarding experiences come from my relationships.",
"It's easy to decide what you're going to do. The hard thing is deciding what you're not going to do. ",
"The very thing you fear could be the best thing to ever happen to you.",
"The idea of being all things to all people is a thing of the past.",
"Ignore the people who tell you it won't work, and hire people who embrace your vision.",
"If you have to go through life being unhappy to conform to society around you, that's not a very good deal. ",
"Real entrepreneurs have what I call the three Ps (and, trust me, none of them stands for 'permission'). Real entrepreneurs have a 'passion' for what they're doing, a 'problem' that needs to be solved, and a 'purpose' that drives them forward. ",
"There is no better catalyst to success than curiosity. ",
"Celebrate for a nanosecond.",
"If we have 99% [market] share of Ford Company, the question to us is 'How do we improve the customer satisfaction in order to get that additional 1% share?",
"Sometimes it's better not to ask-or to listen-when tell you something can't be done. I didn't ask for permission or approval. I just went ahead and did it.",
"I started Dell 28 yrs ago with $1000. Revenues in 1984 were $6 million. Last year $62.1 billion. Impossible is nothing."
📜Conclusion:-
Impossible is nothing..!!!