To implement processes at Dell, Inc., the company studied what other corporations were doing and came up with a unique set of processes that complemented their culture and business. Dell points out that the processes were centered on executing efficiently, since the company was selling to hundreds of thousands of customers daily. Without these specialized processes, Dell, Inc. would not have been able to succeed, he adds.

Transcript



As we went from a company with $300 million to $3 billion to $60 billion, we had to put processes in place, for sure, to deal with the complexity of what we were trying to accomplish. And so we learned from other companies. And we hired folks from other companies. We didn't just take their process in wholesale fashion and say, "We want to get what GE has for this and just put it in." But we studied what other companies were doing and said, "Okay, let's come up with the Dell process for doing this that's going to be right for our culture, right for our business and that we can execute." But we are a very analytically driven business. It's also a business that happens in real-time. We're selling everyday to hundreds of thousands of customers, and so it is an execution kind of business. And if you're not paying attention to that, the business doesn't succeed, it just falls down.

1. The Origins of Dell, Inc.
2. The Culture and Dynamics of Dell, Inc. During the Early Years
3. Take Caution in Forming Close Friendships in a Company
4. Setting up the Initial Board of Directors for Dell, Inc.
5. Enhancing the Effectiveness of a Board of Directors
6. Overcoming Some of the Early Mistakes of Dell, Inc.
7. The Reasons Behind Dell, Inc. Going Public
8. Critical Changes to the Business Model of Dell, Inc.
9. Self-Disruption at Dell, Inc.
10. Starting a New Company in an Inefficient Industry
11. Implementing Processes in a Fast-Growing Company
12. Creating an Effective Communication Infrastructure
13. The Flawed Model of the Early Computer Industry
14. Revolutionizing the PC and IT Industry
15. Innovation at Dell, Inc.
16. Finding a Common Language for Improvement inside a Company
17. Current Threats to the PC Industry

Michael Dell lectures on Entrepreneurship for Stanford University students, May 1, 2007. Michael Dell is the founder of the computer company Dell, Inc. He created one of the most profitable computer companies in the world with annual sales of up to $50 billion American dollars. Dell has also become one of the wealthiest people in the world with a 4th place listing on the Forbes rich Americans list in 2005 with an estimated worth of $18 billion. In this Stanford lecture, he talks about taking caution in forming close friendships in a company, creating an effective communication infrastructure and starting a new company in an inefficient industry.

Related Links: http://www.dell.com/
                            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell

Last Updated: Mon, Jul 16, 2007

Course Details:
- Endeavor's Entrepreneurs' Summit
- Stanford University's Entrepreneurship Corner (ecorner)

Original Course Name: Endeavor's Entrepreneurs' Summit.