Feedback Form
Home Features Mastermind Forums About Advertise Blog Network Contact Be An Author

Lesson #3: Build a Company of Owners

Michael Dell Articles
Lesson #3: Build a Company of Owners

“It’s one thing to create a culture that works,” says Dell. “It’s another to use that culture to create a measurable strategic advantage. You need to engender a sense of personal investment in all your employees, which comes down to three things: responsibility, accountability, and shared success.”

Dell attributes a large part of his success to his ability to create a team behind him that feels every bit as personally devoted in the company as he does. “Creating a culture in which every person in your organization, at every level, thinks and acts like an owner means that you need to aim to connect individual performance with your company’s most important objectives.”

For Dell, that means using specific quantitative measurements of overall company progress towards the goals of creating the best possible customer experience and enhancing shareholder value and applying those to every employee’s performance. “A company composed of individual owners is less focused on hierarchy and on who has the nicest office, and more intent on achieving those goals,” says Dell. “At Dell, everyone is an owner.”

Dell is not one to micro-manage. He believes in hiring talented people, giving them significant responsibilities and letting them carry them out on their own. With responsibility comes accountability, as well as a share in the company’s success. He maintains as open a dialogue as possible between management and staff in order to promote the free-flow of ideas and cooperation. Dell is distrustful of overly rigid business processes and encourages his company to remain “allergic to hierarchy.”

“One of the typical battlefields in a high-tech company lies between R&D and manufacturing,” says Dell. “The R&D guys make a product and say, 'OK, this one's done.' The manufacturing guys see it and say: 'What are we supposed to do with this?' At Dell, all R&D managers and all manufacturing managers report to one person who makes sure that each side sees the other side's problems and challenges. They empathize. They work together as a team.” On his frequent visits to Dell plants around the world, Dell is known to go down to the production line to talk to his workers, or offer a question and answer session to the employees.

Dell believes his main role as Chairman of the company is to create a strong team by giving people the freedom and the courage to take risks. “I learned very early to surround myself with talented people who challenge convention, offer new ideas, and relentlessly drive for improvement. And to let those people thrive,” says Dell. “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.”

Over the years, Dell has consistently been asked about when he would finally step down and let others run the company. “The truth is,” replies Dell, “other people have been helping run things at Dell for a long time. The greatest mistake you can make is thinking you can do it all by yourself.”





Lesson 3 Build a Company of Owners

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Article Feedback
 Article Feedback No article feedback found.
  Leave Your Feedback
article feedback

Article Feedback
Evan Carmichael
I've created this section on my site to share some of the incredible tools that I've used to build my business. I hope you too can benefit from them and look forward to hearing your feedback on the reviews! - Visit Evan Carmichael's Website

Anne Barr
Anne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website

Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website

Jeff Foster
WebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas.  We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing
- Visit Jeff Foster's Website

Dianne Crampton

Dianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here.

Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009.  Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010.  To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here.

- Visit Dianne Crampton's Website

John Power
John Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website

John Alexander
John has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center.
I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website

Cheryl Matthynssens

Cheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur.  Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well.  A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles.  She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide-  to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being.  Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com

- Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website


To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

Famous Entrepreneur Video
Michael Dell Video - Michael Dell's Advice to Entrepreneurs
Famous Entrepreneur Video

Michael Dell Picture Michael Dell Newsletter
Get our free newsletter to learn more about Michael Dell and other famous entrepreneurs!

Name:
Email:





Evan Elite Authors
John Power  
Casey Gollan  
Stephanie Robey  
Evan Elite Authors

Become An Author
Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details.
Become An Author

Evan's Latest Video
Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media
Evan's Latest Video

Business Opportunities
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"

How to Start An Online Business

Click Here To Learn More
Business Opportunities



Evan's Newsletter
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Evan`s Newsletter

Free Downloads
How To Work Icon How To Work
Mastering Change Icon Mastering Change
Start-Up Capital Estimate Icon Start-Up Capital Estimate
Succeeding In A Down Economy Icon Succeeding In A Down Economy
Tips For Less Stress Icon Tips For Less Stress
Free Downloads - Complete List

Entrepreneur Tools and Guides
Top 50 Business Plan Blog Posts for 2008
Top 50 Business Plans
Top Business Plan Blogs
 
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009
 
Entrepreneur Tools and Guides

SEO For Africa
SEO For Africa
Kalabi Elom Assamagan Agoe, Togo,
SEO For Africa

If I Were A Startup...
Adam and Matthew Toren , $200k to $3.4 Mil in 3 Years
Adam and Matthew Toren
$200k to $3.4 Mil in 3 Years
Brian Scudamore, $200k to $8 Mil in 5 years
Brian Scudamore
$200k to $8 Mil in 5 years
If I Were A Startup... - Complete List

Famous Entrepreneurs
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter
J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter
Joyce Hall, Hallmark Cards
Joyce Hall
Hallmark Cards
Famous Entrepreneurs - Complete List

Entrepreneur Advice
Timothy Ferriss, 4 Hour Work Week
Timothy Ferriss
4 Hour Work Week
Seth Godin, Ideavirus Author
Seth Godin
Ideavirus Author
Entrepreneur Advice - Complete List

Popular Articles
(Premium Authors)

     What is your DMO
By Dr. John Oda
     The Power to Influence Your Employees
By Dr. John Oda
     What is a Business Coach
By Dr. John Oda

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

More Evan Carmichael
More Information