Michael Dell Quotes

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.

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.

Don't spend so much time trying to choose the perfect opportunity, that you miss the right opportunity.

Don’t be afraid to fail. Get out there and experiment and learn and fail and get a rate based on the experiences you have. Go for it and when you go for it you’ll learn what you’re capable of, what the potential is, where the opportunities are, but you can’t be afraid to fail because that’s when you learn.

It's easy to decide what you're going to do. The hard thing is deciding what you're not going to do.

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.

Ignore the people who tell you it won't work, and hire people who embrace your vision.

Regrets are born of paths never taken.

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.

Ideas are commodity. Execution of them is not.

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

Each day that you're moving toward your dreams without compromising who you are, you're winning

I believe that you have to understand the economics of a business before you have a strategy, and you have to understand your strategy before you have a structure. If you get these in the wrong order, you will probably fail.

With the understanding that you will face tough times and amazing experiences, you must also commit to the adventure. Just have faith in the skills and the knowledge you've been blessed with and go.

Anything that can be measured can be improved

Collaboration equals innovation.

By questioning all the aspects of our business, we continuously inject improvement and innovation into our culture.

I started Dell 28 yrs ago with $1000. Revenues in 1984 were $6 million. Last year $62.1 billion. Impossible is nothing.

We were always focused on our profit and loss statement. But cash flow was not a regularly discussed topic. It was as if we were driving along, watching only the speedometer, when in fact we were running out of gas.

You just have to change. To be successful, what you have to do is have an acceptance of risk and you have to be pretty explicit about that, because if you don’t accept risk, you don’t get any innovation. And that means part of risk is you have to accept failure because not everything works.

Our business is about technology, yes. But it's also about operations and customer relationships.

The very thing you fear could be the best thing to ever happen to you

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. In professional circles it's called networking. In organizations it's called team building. And in life it's called family, friends, and community. 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.

The point is, you can't keep doing the same thing and expect it to keep working.

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.

There are a lot of new things going on in the microprocessor world, including increased focus on power and efficiency.

There is no better catalyst to success than curiosity.

If you don't have jobs, it's hard to have other things like health and education.

I'm pretty active anyway, but I'm also competitive.I used my Fitbit as an example of the innate power of data to turn information into insights and actions.

The idea of being all things to all people is a thing of the past.

If you have to go through life being unhappy to conform to society around you, that's not a very good deal.

I had to give it a full go and see what happened.

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.

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.

It's exciting to see how fast your kids learn and grow. I'm not too worried about them, particularly the ones who like to break rules and don't follow instructions; those are the ones that will do just fine because they know what's important to them.

We've found that customers are very open. They'll tell you what's going on, what's working and what's not. They're looking for help.

Americans are known for their strength, fortitude, and generosity in times of need. We encourage people in the U.S. and everywhere to give with their hearts, reach out to these victims, and donate what they can to the relief efforts.

There's always an opportunity to make a difference

The key to using the Internet to extend and build relationships is to view ownership of information differently-you need to bring customers inside your business to create information partnerships ... relationships become the differentiator, more than products or services. Businesses become intertwined.

Twenty years and $40 billion. They seem like good round numbers.

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.

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.

The speed of the Internet provides a fundamentally different perspective on how business relationships occur ... The approach relies on collaboration, not on competition ... on sharing information, and understanding what we as businesses do best.

I always knew I wanted to run a business someday.

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.

From the time I was 7, when I purchased my first calculator, I was fascinated by the idea of a machine that could compute things.

It had always made sense to me to build a business based on what people really wanted, rather than guess what we thought they might want.

Celebrate for a nanosecond.

I'm a big believer in online communities and in user-generated content.

Visionaries have the unique ability to dream of what's possible and then make it a reality. We are excited to watch these visionaries use technology to help students develop skills in collaboration, critical thinking and teamwork that they'll need to compete in the global economy.