Mistakes, Leadership and Dell’s Global Impact

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Dean Thomas Gilligan interviewed Michael Dell, CEO, founder and chairman of the board of Dell, Inc., Nov. 11 as part of the VIP Distinguished Speaker Series.

“I was in an advanced math class at my public school in Houston and my math teacher got the only [computer] terminal at Johnson Junior High School, now Johnson Middle School,” said Dell. “You type in the program, you send it off and back comes the answer. I got pretty fascinated with it. I thought it was really interesting and I started writing programs and playing around with this computer as much as I could.”

When asked who he most admired, Dell admitted that he was more likely to admire people who had certain traits, such as having overcome adversity. He talked specifically about his experiences with Harlem Academy, a school in Harlem, New York that he said has done great things with their programs in what he called “an otherwise pretty tough environment.”

Gilligan then asked Dell what he thought Dell could improve about his personal or professional style. Dell said that he tends to jump to the answer very quickly, and that he needed to work on being more understanding of the process involved. He also said that it was good to remember that there are different styles of doing things and it was important to find a way to connect those styles together. He also said that while it is important to reflect on the past to determine what could have been done better, it is not good to spend too much time in the past because you still need to look toward the future.

As for his biggest mistake, Dell said it was hard to pinpoint one instance but that the company had gone through times when it was trying to do too many things at once and had to pull back. He also said that sometimes the company had success in an area and because of that success was slow to change when the industry did. Dell noted that he doesn’t live with regrets because he is proud of where the company is today and how it helps customers thrive.

Dell said that his greatest accomplishment is seeing how the capabilities that the company provides to its customers have helped those customers thrive. He also remarked that the company helped drive the efficiency movement and helped make computers available to a much larger audience. He also said he gets excited when he sees how the company has changed the lives of its employees and employees of associated companies over the past 10 years.

Thanks to Rob Meyer
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