Editor’s note: This article was first published in November 2021. The figures are as of 2021, including Dell Technologies’ market capitalisation of over $42 billion and Dell’s position as the third-largest PC maker.
Michael Dell says he didn’t ask for much advice on his path as an entrepreneur. He admits that if he had, both his friends and his family would have talked him out of taking the risk he took. Successful entrepreneurs are the ones who venture to do what others don’t dare. You may fail or you may succeed, but only those willing to take that risk will succeed.
“In my case, I experimented, tested fast and got to success fast,” Michael Dell says. At just 19, with the only $1,000 he had, he founded Dell Technologies in 1984, and he went on to become the youngest chief executive on the Fortune 500 list. His company is the third-largest PC manufacturer and one of the companies that truly revolutionised the industry.
Dell Technologies currently has a stock market capitalisation of more than $42 billion. What business lessons and advice for entrepreneurs can we take from Michael Dell?
Michael Dell’s business principles and lessons for entrepreneurs
A quote that sums up Michael Dell’s business philosophy
“You have to be crazy in business. At least, crazy in other people’s eyes. An entrepreneur is doing something others don’t dare to do. Of course there’s uncertainty. If it were that obvious the business was going to work, everyone would be doing it. If you want to succeed as an entrepreneur, you have to be willing to try and fail. Test fast and fail fast; test fast and succeed fast. In my case, I experimented, tested fast and got it right fast.”
Michael Dell has also pointed out that small businesses have great opportunities these days. They don’t need big investments, and they have within reach all the technology tools that used to be available only to large companies. The playing field is levelling out.
A big company shouldn’t underestimate a small one, and a small entrepreneur shouldn’t shrink back in front of a big company, because they have the tools they need to take it on. Sometimes hunger and creativity are what decide whether you beat that big company on its own turf.
Michael Dell’s philosophy is “play nice, but win”.
1. Curiosity is an essential trait in business
You have to be a curious person. Curiosity keeps you always looking for new answers and solutions to problems. It’s important to keep learning and acquiring new knowledge all the time. You have to be open to ambiguity. You’ll often have to put up with some sleepless nights if you want to thrive in business.
2. Use facts and data to make decisions
You have to be objective and humble. You have to be willing to change your mind if the facts and the data suggest you’re wrong. The scientific method works in business.
3. Try not to be the smartest person in the room
This advice is very popular among great, successful business people. Always surround yourself with people who challenge you, teach you, inspire you and push you to give your best. Try not to surround yourself with people who only want to flatter you. Instead, look for people who are critical of your ideas and make you question some of your positions.
4. If you want to win in business, you need these qualities
Michael Dell says there are five qualities, or personality traits, every entrepreneur needs to succeed in business: commitment, drive, determination, perseverance and an indomitable will.
5. There’s no success without values
Reliability, ethics and integrity are paramount in business. You can’t succeed these days without these values. Markets are efficient in the long run. If, as an entrepreneur, you commit to something and don’t deliver, or if you deliver a bad product or a bad service, nobody will want to buy from you again. Today consumers have a way of complaining en masse: social media. Even small mistakes can cost you dearly, without any lack of business ethics involved. So imagine what happens if your company lacks integrity.
See also: The business lessons these entrepreneurs would give their younger selves
6. In business, you change or die
There are only the living and the dead. Organisations need to reinvent themselves continually, understanding and anticipating every change and factor in the market environment. In the technology world, changes are more drastic and faster, and constant evolution is required. Fall asleep for a few months and you’ll have killed the company.
7. Celebrate and appreciate achievements, however small
It’s important to celebrate every small achievement. It motivates and inspires. But don’t stop at the celebration. Treat yourself to celebrations, but always with an eye on the next big goal, always looking towards the next big opportunity.
8. Ideas are just a commodity
An entrepreneur’s greatest asset is ideas, but ideas on their own are just a commodity. And we have to take that commodity to market. In other words, an idea starts to have value the moment you execute it. Simply having an idea isn’t enough to succeed. You have to carry it out.
9. Players win games, but teams win championships
Always put the team ahead of the player. Don’t let anything or anyone break up a good team. Give that team the tools it needs. The teams you build are the ones that will be with you throughout your business journey, and ultimately it’s the team that will take you to success or failure in your business.
10. Life is about falling down and getting back up
If you’ve never fallen, it’s because you haven’t walked or run far enough. If you’ve never taken a hit, it’s because you haven’t fought hard enough. Life is about taking a hit, falling, getting back up and fighting again. Never let the blows sink you. Just accept them and get back in the fight.
See also: Kevin O’Leary’s 10 lessons for success in business
11. Never waste a crisis
Crises are inevitable, but they’re also essential to drive change and progress. A crisis often creates a new opportunity to do things differently. It’s in a crisis that a company ends up shaping its greatest strengths for the future. Instead of wallowing in your problems, swim in search of opportunities.
12. Never be a victim
Victimhood is a losing mindset, not only in business but in life too. Self-determination requires focusing on what you can control and drive. You may not be to blame for everything that happens around you, personally or in business, but you are responsible for acting on everything that happens around you.
13. Confidence, not arrogance
Sometimes it’s easy to cross that very fine line between confidence and arrogance. Don’t make that mistake. Never stop being humble. Don’t give way to your ego. “Confidence, not arrogance. Humility, not ego.”
14. Kaizen to thrive in business
You should be pleased, but never satisfied. The Japanese call this kaizen, which basically means “continuous improvement”. Put another way, you have to be in a race with no finish line. In business we can’t afford to fall asleep, because the competition is ravenous and will use our distractions to push us out of the way.
15. Success is a lousy teacher
There’s only one thing harder than dealing with failure, and that’s dealing with success. Setbacks and failures are less comfortable, but they make you stronger once you get past them, as long as you give yourself permission to learn from them.
Michael Dell’s final advice
Michael Dell offers some useful advice for both life and business. Among other things, he recommends working on your optimism: “You should be optimistic in life. You’ll do much better.” Indeed, some psychological studies have shown that if we measure a person’s optimism quotient, that person, as a general rule, tends to live longer, live better and earn more money.
“Always respect others. Treat them the way you’d like to be treated yourself” is another piece of Michael Dell’s advice that people often forget once they reach a certain status.
Whether or not someone is about to start out in business, he recommends always being humble, candid and authentic, and above all a person of integrity and honesty.
Featured image: Ed Schipul, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr.
