32 Inspirational Quotes From Michael Dell

32 Inspirational Quotes From Michael Dell

While at the University of Texas, Austin, where he was enrolled as a pre-med student, Michael Dell experimented with the idea of assembling and selling upgrade kits for personal computers from his dorm room.

This marketing idea successfully cuts off overhead costs, thereby making his products cheaper than those of the traditional computer stores. Taking it further, he obtained a vendor license to bid on contracts for the State of Texas and won several bids.

In 1984, at the age of 19, and with $1,000, he officially launched the business by the name Dell

Computer Incorporation. By 2013, the company was worth over $24billion.

Here are 32 great quotes from Michael Dell, who is personally worth $18.4billion, to inspire you.

1. “Sometimes you just have to belly up to the bar and take a chance. We made some mistakes, but we also had the strength to work our way out.”

2. “You don’t have to be a genius or a visionary or even a college graduate to be successful. You just need a framework and a dream.”

3. “Our business is about technology, yes. But it’s also about operations and customer relationships.”

4. “You don’t have to be a genius or a visionary or even a college graduate to be successful. You just need a framework and a dream.”

5. People ask me all the time, ‘How can I become a successful entrepreneur?’ And I have to be honest: It’s one of my least favorite questions, because if you’re waiting for someone else’s advice to become an entrepreneur, chances are you’re not one.”

6. “The interesting thing is when we design and architect a server, we don’t design it for Windows or Linux, we design it for both. We don’t really care, as long as we’re selling the one the customer wants.”

7. “Real entrepreneurs have what I call the three Ps (and, trust me, none of them stands for ‘permission’). Real entrepreneurs have a ‘passion’ for what they’re doing, a ‘problem’ that needs to be solved, and a ‘purpose’ that drives them forward.”

8. “Well, we started the company by building to the customer’s order. And interestingly enough, we didn’t do it because we saw some massive paradigm in the future. Basically, we just didn’t have any capital to mass-produce.”

9. “There are a lot of things that go into creating success. I don’t like to do just the things I like to do. I like to do things that cause the company to succeed. I don’t spend a lot of time doing my favorite activities.”

10. “If you think about computing, there isn’t just one way to compute, just like there’s not just one way to move around. You can have shoes, you can have a car, you can have a bicycle, submarine, rocket, plane, train, glider, whatever. Because you have one doesn’t mean you get rid of another one… But PCs continue to be important.”

11. “The key is to listen to your heart and let it carry you in the direction of your dreams. I’ve learned that it’s possible to set your sights high and achieve your dreams and do it with integrity, character, and love. And each day that you’re moving toward your dreams without compromising who you are you’re winning.”

12. “Every breakthrough business idea begins with solving a common problem. The bigger the problem, the bigger the opportunity. I discovered a big one when I took apart an IBM PC. I made two interesting discoveries: The components were all manufactured by other companies, and the system that retailed for $3,000 cost about $600 in parts.”

13. “There are a lot of things that go into creating success. I don’t like to do just the things I like to do. I like to do things that cause the company to succeed. I don’t spend a lot of time doing my favorite activities.”

14. “The world got enamored with smartphones and tablets, but what’s interesting is those devices don’t do everything that needs to be done. Three-D printing, virtual-reality computing, robotics are all controlled by PCs.”

15. “It’s through curiosity and looking at opportunities in new ways that we’ve always mapped our path at Dell. There’s always an opportunity to make a difference.”

16. “I’ve been fascinated with technology since I was a boy banging around on my father’s adding machine. Back then I’d type in an equation, the device made some cool noises, and out came my answer. I was hooked.”

17. “I do think a founder has special permission to make sweeping changes across an organization.”

18. “There are many different kinds of PCs. You have fixed, virtual, tablets, notebooks, ultrabooks, desktops, workstations. What you find in commercial PCs, business PCs, is that there’s a really long tail of usage on client devices.”

19. “Computing shows up in many different ways. You have computing that you wear, computing that you carry. What you think of as the traditional PC market has a long tail of usage, particularly in the commercial world, but also in consumer.”

20. “Dell’s a company that has changed the IT landscape in making PCs and servers more affordable. There’s enormous opportunities to make IT more accessible to tens of millions of companies, kind of democratizing the ability for companies to gain access to IT.”

21. “In taking Dell private, we plan to go back to our roots, focusing on the entrepreneurial spirit that made Dell one of the fastest-growing and most successful companies in history.”

22. “Productivity is grounded in the PC. Where does the computing power come from? How would you run ‘USA Today’ without PCs? Run a hospital without PCs? People don’t want products, they want solutions.”

23. “The customer reaction to Dell going private has been a lot more positive than I would have ever imagined. Customers see it as – ‘You don’t have to be distracted. Now you can totally focus on your business.’ So they see it as a positive.”

24. “Don’t spend so much time trying to choose the perfect opportunity, that you miss the right opportunity.”

25. “Recognize that there will be failures, and acknowledge that there will be obstacles. But you will learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others, for there is very little learning in success.

26. “If you’re happy, that’s probably the most important thing. Everyone probably has their own definition of success, for me it’s happiness. Do I enjoy what I’m doing? Do I enjoy the people I’m with? Do I enjoy my life?”

27. “It’s through curiosity and looking at opportunities in new ways that we’ve always mapped our path at Dell. There’s always an opportunity to make a difference.”

28. “One of the things I benefited from when I started this business was that I didn’t know anything. I was just instinct with no preconceived notions. This enabled me to learn and change quickly without having to worry about maintaining any kind of status quo, like some of my bigger competitors.”

29. “Whether you’ve found your calling, or if you’re still searching, passion should be the fire that drives your life’s work.”

30. “We have enormous potential to keep growing. It provides lots of learning opportunity for me and it’s fun to see how so many people, so many communities are affected in a positive way by what we’re doing here. I love my job and I’m not giving it up.”

31. “Try never to be the smartest person in the room. And if you are, I suggest you invite smarter people … or find a different room.”

32. “We are all gifts to each other, and my own growth as a leader has shown me again and again that the most rewarding experiences come from my relationships.”