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Summary: Very Blase' - Dry Corporate material written for PR purposes
Review: 90% of this book discusses the successes of Dell Computer and the lessons learned along the way. It was almost as if it was a 200 page advertisement written by a PR firm in the form of a book. There is almost nothing into the personal side of what he did, the ups, downs, thoughts, emotions of what he experienced along the way to building a huge company from virtually nothing. It is difficult for me to understand how one could get an "inside " view from this book. An unauthorized biography is probably what it would take as he shares nothing about himself voluntarily.
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding
Review: This book describes Dell's revolutionary approach that has changed the face of modern business. It is a must read book.
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Summary: Wait for the Cliff Notes
Review: This book should have ben streamlined and turned into a magazine article / profile on Michael Dell. You won't miss a thing by just reviewing the Cliff Notes.
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Summary: I expected much more..
Review: Dell has been one of the most admired companies in the recent years especially when one speaks of effeciency in the supply chain. I was looking for strategies and operational details on how really Dell suceeded in making this happen. While the book clearly brings outh the core beliefs at Dell, the details I was looking for are missing. Mr Dell, I am sure that you will read this review- Please come out with " Direct from Dell -2 -A closer look at our Operations" . I am glad that the proceeds from this book are going to charity.
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Summary: Dell shows How to put Common Sense to Work
Review: I think what has made Dell succesful is his simplicity and application of ideas that were thought to be too trivial once. How repeatable is this success story for other business ventures can not be guaranteed. But one thing is sure, if you think and work like Dell, there are a fairly good chances of tasting success. Sharad B Nalawade Bangalore
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Summary: Good book, but, he's adapted the japanese "kiretsu" model
Review: I recently read Mr. Dell's book and was fascinated to see his rise to the top of the computer world. About half way through the book I began to wonder when he was going to present some "blockbuster" pearls of wisom. It was then that I began to realize the Dell model was nothing more than a highly developed "kiretsu" style organization (on the supply side). Interestingly, he seemed to have developed this style on his own, which, in and of itself was pretty impressive. His basic business philosophy of giving the customer exactly what they want, when they want it and at a competitive price is no great message. The true message he delivers is, always always follow the basic principals, never be afraid to change and execute at the highest level possible. Pretty good book for reinforcing the basics but I think that most people with a graduate degree may get a little bored if they are looking for something "new".
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Summary: Excellent insight into how to use the web for business
Review: Excellent book on the growing pains of a company, plus how to use the web as a strategic tool for your business. There many lessons on what, and what not to do in business. I encourage this book for any company that is growing, and/or trying to figure out how to use the web as a strategic tool.
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Summary: Dell has the gift of listening to what customers want.
Review: The subtitle to this book, Direct from Dell, is Strategies That Revolutionized An Industry meaning that instead of building a computer first and then hoping a customer would want to purchase it, Dell would ask the customer exactly what he/she wanted and then build a custom computer at a fair/affordable price. In my view, that is where is his success springs from. Dell also provides an extremely rare look at how a billion dollar company looks at metrics, especially ROIC (return-on-invested-capital). ROIC is a measure of how effectively Dell creates shareholder value relative to its cost of capital. ROIC Drivers include: pricing, product mix, and volume; sales force productivity; forecasting; transformation costs; material costs; R&D and I/S costs; capacity management; out-of-box audit; logistics - inbound/outbound; quality customer service; accounts receivable terms and timing; inventory terms and delivery; backlog/lead times; excess and obsolete risks; accounts payable terms and timing; facilities management; and, IBU risk/currency risk. This book clearly displays many keywords and how a highly successful CEO uses them. Dell has a track record which is quite extraordinary it seems to me, meaning, he is worth listening to as the man has walked the talk. No one can predict the future but Michael Dell is doing a lot of things right and in my view the future looks bright for Dell. Thank you, Michael Dell, for sharing how you look at Dell Computer Corporation. This book focuses almost exclusively on the Dell Corporation so don't expect very much insight into any other companies. When the current computer I am using needs to be replaced I will certainly check out Dell at that time. The book includes a small poster which explains Dell's revolutionary Build-To-Customer Order process.
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Summary: Clearly ahead of his time
Review: Michael Dell is a man to be admired not for what he's done, but for how he went about it. Most people don't grasp that Dell Computers went a different direction than the traditional business model in a world and especially an industry that changes so rapidly it seemed almost impossible. This book is not about " How to become a millionaire", it's a philosophy of an ideal business model that has proven successful time and again when practically everyone predicted it would fail. It's about a multi-billion dollar corporation that continues to work as a "whole" much like a small business, instead of being "tiered" apart where communication is non-existant. The writing style in this book was refreshing, as if he was talking to you on the street, not dictating the minutes from a board meeting to try to impress.
Rating:
Summary: OK book...
Review: An interesting perspective from the man himself. Dell goes through how he started the company.
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