Abilities, Traits, and Experiences of Michael Dell, Dell CEO
Biographical information:
Good Evening, my name is Michael Dell and I am the founder and CEO of Dell, Inc. I am 43 years old and live in Texas with my beautiful wife Susan and our 4 children.
Abilities, traits, and experiences:
You may not believe this but my fondness of computers started when I was 15 when I took apart an Apple computer and rebuilt it. Well obviously there were no classes on being an entrepreneur in high school, so I had a lot to learn on my own. Later on while attending the University of Texas I started a computer company called PC’s Limited in my dorm room. When I first started what is now Dell, Inc. My small dorm room company was a success so at the age of 19 I dropped out of college to run my business full time with the help of a small loan from my grandparents. I had no experience and no background in running a business, but at 19 who did. According to Kinicki & Kreinter (2008), trait theorist believed that leadership traits were not innate, but could be developed through experience and learning (p. 348). What I did have was business instincts. I wasn’t born a business man and yes I had quite a few setbacks while learning along the way; I did however learn that the more mistakes I made the faster I learned. I tried to surround myself with smart and innovative people and often tried not to make the same mistake more than once. In 1992 I became the youngest ever CEO to head a fortune 500 company and at the age of 31 I was a billionaire. In 2004 I stepped down as CEO of Dell, Inc but remained the Chairman of the board and turned the business over to Kevin B. Rollins. There were some issues and Dell, Inc wasn’t as strong as it use to be so I returned as CEO in 2007. According to Kinicki & Kreitner (2008), by emphasizing leader behavior, something that is learned, the behavioral style approach makes it clear that leaders are made not born. Over the years my business instincts became better and my business excelled
Good Evening, my name is Michael Dell and I am the founder and CEO of Dell, Inc. I am 43 years old and live in Texas with my beautiful wife Susan and our 4 children.
Abilities, traits, and experiences:
You may not believe this but my fondness of computers started when I was 15 when I took apart an Apple computer and rebuilt it. Well obviously there were no classes on being an entrepreneur in high school, so I had a lot to learn on my own. Later on while attending the University of Texas I started a computer company called PC’s Limited in my dorm room. When I first started what is now Dell, Inc. My small dorm room company was a success so at the age of 19 I dropped out of college to run my business full time with the help of a small loan from my grandparents. I had no experience and no background in running a business, but at 19 who did. According to Kinicki & Kreinter (2008), trait theorist believed that leadership traits were not innate, but could be developed through experience and learning (p. 348). What I did have was business instincts. I wasn’t born a business man and yes I had quite a few setbacks while learning along the way; I did however learn that the more mistakes I made the faster I learned. I tried to surround myself with smart and innovative people and often tried not to make the same mistake more than once. In 1992 I became the youngest ever CEO to head a fortune 500 company and at the age of 31 I was a billionaire. In 2004 I stepped down as CEO of Dell, Inc but remained the Chairman of the board and turned the business over to Kevin B. Rollins. There were some issues and Dell, Inc wasn’t as strong as it use to be so I returned as CEO in 2007. According to Kinicki & Kreitner (2008), by emphasizing leader behavior, something that is learned, the behavioral style approach makes it clear that leaders are made not born. Over the years my business instincts became better and my business excelled
References: Badaracco, J.L., Jr... (2006, March). Different voice: Leadership in literature. Harvard Business Review, 84(3), 47 – 55. (B) Kinicki, A., & Kreitner, R. (2008). Organizational best practices (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Chapter 14. Kotter, J.P. (2001, December). What leaders really do. Harvard Business Review: Special Issue, 79(11), 85 - 91. (B)