Dell describes the process of self-disruption at Dell, Inc. He explains how the company examines its internal processes and constantly considers recreating ways to do them better. The company also adopts a mindset of looking at how these processes would be done differently if they were to start from scratch.

Transcript



If we were recreating an ability to provide some part of what we do, or what we'd like to do, how would we do it? And how are we going to get from where we are to where we need to go? This happens quite a lot in our business. And it's a real danger of incumbency. It's also the opportunity that new companies have, because they don't have the stuff that gets built up inside companies. So we're constantly looking at, "Hey, if we were redoing this thing from the start, there's a whole bunch of things we would do differently. How do we move there, fast? We have to." So you sort of have a zero-base budgeting model of, "If we were a start-up, what would we do? How would we organize to deliver value to the customers?" Yeah. I wouldn't say we're doing that constantly, but we certainly force ourselves to do it when there are new clear disruptions and whenever there's a clear crisis in the business. It's a great chance to do that.

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.