Why Michael Dell Once Broke Down In Tears In Front Of His Employees
REUTERS
And he's not above gloating. He just told USA Today's Jon Swartz in an interview:
"I won. It's over ... I feel liberated and unleashed. There is an infectious feeling with winning. ... I can do whatever I want," he said, laughing. "I'm the boss."
But there was a very public moment when Dell was not laughing, he was crying.
It was during the shareholders meeting last September when the official votes were being tallied that would approve the $25 billion sale.
In truth, the outcome was a near certainty because Dell had successfully lobbied for a change in the way that the votes would get counted.
Still, when Dell had gathered enough votes to win, the company threw a party and employees lined up to attend. When Dell took the stage, employees spent 10 minutes cheering him in a standing ovation.
It moved him to tears, Karen Quintos, Dell's chief marketing officer, told Swartz:
"It was my most memorable moment (in 14 years) here," Quintos told Swartz, choking up at the memory.
The rest of us might think on that emotional scene with a sense of irony.
After all, when Steve Jobs successfully won back control of the PC company he founded, returning to Apple in 1997, Dell famously trash-talked him.
Someone had asked Dell what he'd do with Apple if he were in Jobs' shoes and Dell said:
"What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders."
Apple was in financial trouble and trading at about $17 a share at that time.
Dell actually sort of followed his own advice. When his company's stock took a nose dive and he felt he couldn't turn it around under Wall Street's watchful eye, he actually did give the money back to the shareholders, taking out loans and getting partner Silver Lake to help him buy Dell's shares back at $13.75 apiece, even purchasing employees' underwater stock options.
But, like Jobs, Dell didn't shut down his company (although he did trim staff with voluntary resignations and layoffs.)
Now he's got the formidable task of turning Dell into an enterprise company in a crowded field against the likes of HP, IBM, Cisco, IBM, VMware, EMC, and others.
Meanwhile, Apple shares have been soaring for years. At a share price of about $645, Apple executed a 7-for-1 split on Monday.
- A centenarian who starts her day with gentle exercise and loves walks shares 5 longevity tips, including staying single
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- FSSAI in process of collecting pan-India samples of Nestle's Cerelac baby cereals: CEO
- India's e-commerce market set to skyrocket as the country's digital economy surges to USD 1 Trillion by 2030
- Top 5 places to visit near Rishikesh
- Indian economy remains in bright spot: Ministry of Finance
- A surprise visit: Tesla CEO Elon Musk heads to China after deferring India visit
- Unemployment among Indian youth is high, but it is transient: RBI MPC member
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market