By Lyle Bunn
“We are just wired to want to be better,” declared Kevin Rollins, President and COO of Dell while addressing a capacity crowd at the Silicon Valley Churchill Club on Feb 6, 2003.
The additional brains behind the Dell name include Kevin Rollins, who has been defining the next stages of Dell’s growth since 1999. He outlined “the Soul of Dell” as integral to the firms’ march toward dominance as the worldwide provider of PC’s and servers. Ethical responsibility, a winning culture and being a civic corporation underlie the firms focus in domestic markets and will underlie commercial integration that Dell hopes will allow the firm to succeed in China and other markets.
“There is power in great production innovation” he said, presenting in a few words the foundation of Dell. The use of Chinese (for example) labor, production and people has the inherent advantage of taking the competition battle into country large country markets where the direct model can also apply.
Deepening the culture of the Dell team to be “at cause”, more rational and performance focused will serve Dell well in a pending upgrade cycle that is expected to end a three year stagnation cycle as the overall economy picks up.
Rollins summarized his address to the attentive Churchill Club crowd and moderator Linda Tischler of Fast Company with, “Our growth toward becoming a truly great company is to live toward a higher purpose, a maturing culture and leadership at a level that includes each employee”. He credited some insights and sentiments to those who have themselves inspired greatness. Kevin Rollins has the right reading list and the confidence of inspired conviction.
His was a well-received address at The Churchill Club, which continues to serve its community well. Despite its downturn in various aspects, the Valley will continue to create the tools for a productive and forward-moving US and global economy. The innovation created by many of the countries best and brightest, will resolve the digital divide, improve the state of society, the environment and individual health. And, judging by the Kevin Rollins address, The Churchill Club will continue to serve as a forum for the current “important thing” and a bellwether sounding the next “big thing”.
Rollin’s reflection on the current importance of staying focused on a quality, valid business model while improving organizational capacities serve the technology industry at large. His reflections on the lessons of the past several years serve those who are the industry’s future. Keep your eyes on Dell and your ears on the Churchill Club.
www.dell.com and www.churchillclub.org
Contact Lyle Bunn
Direct 416-725-1745
Bio: Lyle Bunn is a high tech marketing strategist working as a freelance mastermind for hire. His previous successes have won the heart and mind of INA Editor-In-Chief, Jim Massey. (If you discover other talent on Lyle Bunn’s level, please email their contact information to jim@inewsagency.com).