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Direct from Dell: Strategies that Revolutionized an Industry
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Author: Michael Dell, Catherine Fredman
List Price: $15.95
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 0887309151
Publisher: HarperBusiness (05 September, 2000)
Edition: Paperback
Sales Rank: 1,688
Average Customer Rating: 4.13 out of 5
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Customer ReviewsRating: 5 out of 5
Dell Isms
Between 1984-87, Michael Dell managed has taken his company from a $1,000 hobby to a $160 million business. In 1999, it was worth $18 billion and had experience a 36000 percent growth. Dell computer company is a "Good to Great" company. Michael Dell exhibits the type of leadership that a "Good to Great" company should have. Dell's Big Picture: Build a business on what people want instead of what you think they want: 1. listen to the customer 2. respond to the customer 3. deliver what they want. Success is a matter of learning and identifying core strengths. Every new growth opportunity has a level of risk Try to identify potential problems early and fix them. Pace investment to match progress. If there was a way to get something done more quickly and easily, I wanted to try it. Eliminate the middle man. Opportunity is part emmersion and part instinct. Dell's Competitive strategies: 1. faster speed to market 2. superior customer service 3. commitment to produce high quality and high performance product 4. rapid entry to the internet. The PC was going to be the business choice for the future. Surround yourself with smart advisors. If you hire good people they will bring other good people to the organization Dell's Two golden rules: Distain inventory and Always listen to the customer. Always sell direct. Build your infrastructure as you grow. Slow and steady growth with a focus on liquidity. Communication is the most important tool in recovering from mistakes. Interject functional excellence and maintain accountability. Segment by customer. Segmentation offered the solution to rapid growth. Maximize strengths to improve profit. The quality of information is proportional to the amount inventory. Focus on getting quality information and decreasing inventory. Information Technology must reduce obstacles to the origin and flow of information. Acheive velocity by selecting the minimum number of parts that will cover the largest portion of the market sector. Dell's view on company culture: moblize around a common goal, invest in long term goals, don't leave the talent search to human resources, cultivate commitment to personal growth, and get involved. Dell's list of donts: 1. Don't be satisfied 2. Don't waste precious resource 3. Don't play hard to get 4. Marry high tech and high touch 5. Don't forget the customer have different fears, questions, and sensitivities. Dell's beliefs about the customer: 1. See the big picture 2. Run with suggestions from the customer 3. Always think bottom line (find ways to help the customer cut costs) 4. Make yourself valuable to the customer. 5. Be a student. Dell's guidelines for communication: 1. Don't underestimate the value of information 2. Communicate directly with the customer 3. work toward increasing demand verses supply 4. think real time 5. R&D must deliver value-added stuff for the customer 6. Get online and learn from the customer. Focus on the customer and not competition.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Goes on the short list of must-have business books
Great book by one of the true pioneers of business in the last 15 years. It provides a fast-reading insight into the success of Dell.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Good lunch hour reading...
Keeping true to the title, Michael Dell gets straight to the point in discussing the "Direct to Customer" model upon which his company was established. As he readily admits, this book is neither an autobiography of himself, nor a detailed history of the company. Rather, the primary focus is on the virtues of the direct model, and how Dell was able to implement it so effectively implement during the past two decades. Most of the ideas and advice introduced here are not groundbreaking (e.g. "know your customer", "keep an entrepreneural spirit", "learn from your salespeople"), but to have all these concepts presented together within the context of such an extraordinarily successful company really puts them to life, and serves as a good reminder for managers to not lose touch with the realities of today's marketplace. The prose is clear and consise, and at less than 200 pages, it's a very quick read. With his effusive praise for Dell's strengths and successes, the book does at times seem more like an extended advertisement for the firm (e.g. the web address stamped across the bottom of each page, an advertising tactic he does explain). However, it's hard to argue with Mr. Dell's results, which alone makes this book worthwhile to read.
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