Direct from Dell: Strategies that Revolutionized an Industry [Paperback]

The PC business is full of rags-to-riches stories. But perhaps none is as dramatic as the rise of Dell Computer. In Direct from Dell, founder and CEO Michael Dell tells how he started his company from a dorm room at the University of Texas with less than $1,000 and built it into an industry powerhouse with a market capitalisation of well over $100 billion. What makes Dell Computer unique is not what it sells, but rather how it sells it. Dell was first in the PC industry to pioneer the direct-selling model, a method that competitors such as Compaq and Apple Computer are only now starting to embrace. By cutting out the intermediary and creating a direct link between manufacturer and customer, Dell was able to provide customers with computers that cost less and that were more apt to meet customer needs.

Direct from Dell is organised into two parts. The first recounts the history and the enormous growth of Dell Computer. The second part focuses on Dell's management approach, from developing customer focus to creating alliances with suppliers. The book manages to avoid most of the promotional and self-congratulatory air that seem to plague so many first-person CEO tomes. Anyone who has followed the PC industry or would like insight into Dell Computer's success should enjoy reading this book. Well written and easy to read. Recommended. -- Harry C. Edwards, Amazon.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

‘The thing that sets Dell apart is its ability to do exactly what the competition tends to believe cannot be done.’
Businessweek

‘Dell’s story is the stuff high-tech legends are made of.’
Forbes

Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computer and one of the world’s top businessmen, explains how to foster and maintain a competitive edge, drawing lessons from his own formidable success.

At the age of twelve Michael Dell earned $2000 selling stamps, and by the age of eighteen he was selling customized PCs from his dorm room. He went on to found one of the most successful computer businesses in the world, redefining the industry with his direct model process and pioneering customer support.

Direct From Dell teaches you how to get to the front of the pack and stay there. Michael Dell shares his perspectives on:
• Why, initially, it’s better to have too little capital rather than too much
• How studying customers, not competition will give you a greater competitive edge
• Exploiting the Internet – Dell sells an amazing $10 million-worth of systems per day over www.dell.com
• Why your people pose a greater threat to your business than the competition
• How to exploit the competition’s weakness by exposing its greatest strength
• How integrating vertically can make the difference between surivival and collapse

Revealing nothing less than a new model for business in the information age, Direct from Dell is both a success story and a manifesto for revolutionizing any industry.

"The book the computer industry has been longing for"
Steve Bennet, 'Independent'

At 13, Michael Dell was a young man with a knack for taking apart his Apple II Computer and an ambition to run a business. Today, just 20 years later, he leads one of the most profitable and innovative organisations in the world.

Michael Dell relates the remarkable story of Dell Computer's rise to success. Beginning in his college dorm with $1,000, he set out to beat IBM at their own game, created the direct-sales model (a Dell hallmark) and pioneered customer support, combining it with unrivalled speed to market and a fierce commitment to product quality and performance. But the story of Dell Computer is no fairy tale – along the way Dell made mistakes and learned some hard lessons, emerging stronger as a result.

In 'Direct from Dell' Michael Dell shares his innovative strategy and perspectives and reveals nothing less than a new model for doing business in the information age. 'Direct from Dell' is both an extraordinary business success story and a manifesto for revolutionising any industry.

"A great book that will serve as a reference to all executives"
Idei Nobuyuki, CEO, Sony Corporation

"Michael Dell is clearly a genius in the computer world, but his revolutionary insights into business processes provide invaluable lessons for other industries as well."
Frederick W. Smith, Chairman and CEO, FedEx Corporation

"Dell's story is the stuff high-tech legends are made of."
Forbes ASAP

Michael Dell’s rise to the top of the computer industry began at the age of fifteen when he first dissected the Apple II. By the age of eighteen he was selling customized PCs from his dorm room and he went on to found the Dell Computer Corporation, revolutionizing the business through direct selling and increased customer service.