Daring Dell to branch out
C|Net | at | by Mike
If there is a key to Michael Dell's success, it is his ability to make the right decision at the right time--and often, that decision is to do nothing at all. He did not join the rush to make handheld devices. He did not open stores as Gateway and Apple Computer did. He did experiment briefly with a stylishly designed PC but axed the product six months after putting it on the market.
"Customers have the best ability to determine which products and services are valid," said the 36-year-old CEO of Dell Computer. "It's not so much people in laboratories. That's actually proven to be a pretty bad way of coming up with products. There's a lot of technology in search of a problem."