Direct From Dell: Strategies That Revolutionized an Industry

Direct From Dell: Strategies That Revolutionized an Industry

Direct From Dell: Strategies That Revolutionized an Industry
List Price: $18.00
Our Price: $3.49
You Save: $14.51 (81%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.99 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Reader: Michael Dell
Edition: Audio Cassette
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Format: Abridged, Audiobook
Published: 1999-04-01
ISBN: 0694520233
Publisher: HarperAudio

Book Reviews of Direct From Dell: Strategies That Revolutionized an Industry

Book Review: Dell's story
Summary: 5 Stars

This book gives an excellent overview of Dell's strategy up until Rollins became CEO. Interesting examples allow you to make application to other businesses.

Summary of Direct From Dell: Strategies That Revolutionized an Industry

"Dell, the company, seems to have been born and evolved with an anticipation of the Internet age. Michael Dell walks us through how he turned his prescience into a powerful reality-and an outstanding example of the companies of the future."
- Andrew S. Grove, Chairman of Intel

Dell Computer Corporation is an $18 billion company and the second largest manufacturer and marketer of personal computers in the world. Founded on a deceptively simple premise - to deliver high-performance computer systems directly to the end user - Dell Computer is the envy of its competition, consistently growing at five times the industry rate, and a perennial darling of Wall Street.

In Direct from Dell, Michael Dell himself tells the incredible story of Dell Computer's successful rise, which began in his college dorm room with $1,000 in capital. You'll encounter a young visionary who, upon witnessing the inefficiencies of an exploding industry, challenged conventional wisdom, and set out to do nothing less than beat IBM at its own game. In so doing, Dell forever changed the way things "had always been done" in the computer industry.

Not just for CEOs or those in high tech, the strategies revealed in Direct from Dell are invaluable to managers across industries. From starting a successful business to his pioneering use of the Internet, Dell shares his perspectives on:

  • Why it's infinitely better for any business starting out to have too little capital, rather than too much
  • Why it can be life-threatening to your company to pursue too many good ideas'or to grow too fast
  • Why it's essential to run a P&L on every area of your business
  • Why your people pose a greater threat to the health of your business than your competition does
  • How integrating your business virtually can make the difference between being quick'and being dead

Revealing nothing less than a new model for doing business in the information age, Direct from Dell is both an extraordinary business success story and a manifesto for revolutionizing any industry.


The PC business is full of rags-to-riches stories. But perhaps none is as dramatic as the rise of Dell Computer. In Direct from Dell, founder and CEO Michael Dell tells how he started his company from a dorm room at the University of Texas with less than $1,000 and built it into an industry powerhouse with a market capitalization of well over $100 billion. What makes Dell Computer unique is not what it sells, but rather how it sells it. Dell was first in the PC industry to pioneer the direct-selling model, a method that competitors such as Compaq and Apple Computer are only now starting to embrace. By cutting out the intermediary and creating a direct link between manufacturer and customer, Dell was able to provide customers with computers that cost less and that were more apt to meet customer needs.

Direct from Dell is organized into two parts. The first recounts the history and the enormous growth of Dell Computer. The second part focuses on Dell's management approach, from developing customer focus to creating alliances with suppliers. The book manages to avoid most of the promotional and self-congratulatory air that seem to plague so many first-person CEO tomes. Anyone who has followed the PC industry or would like insight into Dell Computer's success should enjoy reading this book. Well written and easy to read. Recommended. --Harry C. Edwards

Management Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Management Books
Running with the Giants: What Old Testament Heroes Want You to Know About Life and Leadership ImageRunning with the Giants: What Old Testament Heroes Want You to Know About Life and Leadership
by John C. Maxwell
Hachette Audio; Published: 2002-10; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $2.75
Price in other shops: $12.98
Leading With Soul: An Uncommon Journey of Spirit (Wiley Audio) ImageLeading With Soul: An Uncommon Journey of Spirit (Wiley Audio)
by Lee G. Bolman, Terrence E. Deal
Wiley Audio; Published: 2000-07; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $12.19
Price in other shops: $18.95
More Than Enough : Proven Keys to Building Your Family and Financial Peace ImageMore Than Enough : Proven Keys to Building Your Family and Financial Peace
by Dave Ramsey
Penguin Audio; Published: 1999-01-01; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops: $17.95
Failing Forward Turning Mistakes Into Stepping Stones For Success ImageFailing Forward Turning Mistakes Into Stepping Stones For Success
by John C. Maxwell
Thomas Nelson; Published: 2000-03-08; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $3.90
Price in other shops: $18.99
Getting to Yes : How to Negotiate Agreement Without Giving in (AUDIO CASSETTE) ImageGetting to Yes : How to Negotiate Agreement Without Giving in (AUDIO CASSETTE)
by Roger Fisher
Sound Ideas; Published: 1987-01-01; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $1.14
Price in other shops: $12.00
Organize Your Life & Get Rid of Clutter: How to Clear Your Home and Office of the Messy Buildups That Cramp Your Mind -- And Crimp Your Productivity ImageOrganize Your Life & Get Rid of Clutter: How to Clear Your Home and Office of the Messy Buildups That Cramp Your Mind -- And Crimp Your Productivity
by Ab Jackson
Careertrack; Published: 1996-01; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $19.75
First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently ImageFirst, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently
by Curt Coffman
Simon & Schuster Audio; Published: 1999-07-01; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $7.49
Price in other shops: $20.00
The Goal (revised): A Process of Ongoing Improvement ImageThe Goal (revised): A Process of Ongoing Improvement
by Eliyahu M. Goldratt
Highbridge Audio; Published: 2000-11-13; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $10.61
Price in other shops: $34.95
How to Win Friends & Influence People ImageHow to Win Friends & Influence People
by Dale Carnegie
Simon & Schuster Audio; Published: 1998-10-01; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $7.45
Price in other shops: $39.95
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People ImageThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
by Stephen R. Covey
Covey; Published: 2001-10-01; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $2.50
Price in other shops: $34.95
Similar Books and other products
Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire ImageHard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire
by James Wallace, Jim Erickson
Collins Business; Published: 1993-05-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.97
Price in other shops: $17.95
Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies ImageBuilt to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
by Jerrold Mundis
HarperAudio; Published: 1994-10-01; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $8.16
Price in other shops: $18.95
Business @ the Speed of Thought: Succeeding in the Digital Economy ImageBusiness @ the Speed of Thought: Succeeding in the Digital Economy
by Bill Gates
Warner Business Books; Published: 2000-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.46
Price in other shops: $16.95
The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company (Collins Business Essentials) ImageThe HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company (Collins Business Essentials)
by David Packard
Collins Business; Published: 2006-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.94
Price in other shops: $14.95
Losing My Virginity: How I've Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way ImageLosing My Virginity: How I've Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way
by Richard Branson
Three Rivers Press; Published: 1999-10-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.01
Price in other shops: $16.00
Forbes? Greatest Business Stories of All Time ImageForbes? Greatest Business Stories of All Time
by Forbes Magazine Staff, Daniel Gross
Published: 1996-10-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.55
Price in other shops: $24.95
Grinding It Out: The Making Of McDonald's ImageGrinding It Out: The Making Of McDonald's
by Ray Kroc
St. Martin's Paperbacks; Published: 1992-04-15; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.95
Price in other shops: $7.99
POUR YOUR HEART INTO IT: HOW STARBUCKS BUILT A COMPANY ONE CUP AT A TIME ImagePOUR YOUR HEART INTO IT: HOW STARBUCKS BUILT A COMPANY ONE CUP AT A TIME
by Howard Schultz, Dori Jones Yang
Hyperion; Published: 1999-01-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.19
Price in other shops: $15.95
How Dell Does It ImageHow Dell Does It
by Steven Holzner
McGraw-Hill; Published: 2005-12-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops: $24.95
Sam Walton: Made In America ImageSam Walton: Made In America
by Sam Walton
Bantam; Published: 1993-06-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.50
Price in other shops: $7.99
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories