Michael Dell’s 5 Golden Rules

I have read the autobiography of Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Computer, and would like to share with you some of the good things which we could learn from him.

1. Keep things simple. Dell tries to keep as few partners as possible and reduces from 140 different suppliers.

2. Keep listening to the clients. Michael Dell spends 40% of his time with customers.

3. Keep seeking information from the clients. Michael Dell asks the clients these questions: how well are we serving you? Are there any improvements we could learn? We are the things we could help you?

4. Be innovative. One time, when he was doing the installation of computers to his clients, he realized that there was a need to uninstall the previous computers. Then, he requested the design team to come up with the design which made it easier to build and took less time to install and produce. You see why Dell has been doing so successful in corporate sales, in addition to cost reduction.

5. Listen to teammates. Every year, the management team will have a hall meeting in which he describes how the company is doing, what his strategies are and what plans he has. He answers a lot of questions. Any question is welcome. You see how he collects valuable ideas and feedback from people who understand how the world is changing.

We could actually apply these rules easily but many CEOs ignore them. Nevertheless, we could think about how we could apply them in our context.