“In 1997, shortly after Steve Jobs had returned to Apple as CEO, Michael Dell was asked what he’d do if he were in charge of the company. Dell replied, ‘I’d shut it down and give the money back to shareholders,'” John Reeves writes for The Motley Fool. “Apple investors are obviously very thankful Dell wasn’t put in charge. The company’s shares are up over 17,000% since Dell made that flippant remark.”
“The period from Steve Jobs’ return to Apple until his death in 2011 is one of the greatest runs in American business history,” Reeves writes. “During that time, Apple went from being a troubled company in decline to become the most valuable company in the world.”
Reeves writes, “This raises two essential questions for investors: 1. What precisely accounts for this incredible success during Steve Jobs’ second act at Apple? 2. Were there signals available to investors in 1997 that Apple was on the verge of its dramatic upward trajectory? The excellent new book Becoming Steve Jobs, by Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli, provides us with valuable insights into these two questions.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We heartily recommend the book Becoming Steve Jobs.
SEE ALSO:
Beleaguered Dell officially gives the money back to the shareholders – October 29, 2013
Beleaguered Dell’s quarterly profit plummets 72% as PC sales shrink – August 15, 2013
Beleaguered Dell’s earnings fall 79% as Windows PC sales fall – May 17, 2013
Michael Dell bristles when his beleaguered PC company is compared with mighty Apple Inc. – February 4, 2013
Beleaguered Dell’s profit plummets 47 percent – November 16, 2012
Apple now worth 38 times Dell’s market value – October 3, 2012
Biting words on Apple come back to haunt Dell – February 10, 2007
Steve Jobs emails Apple team: Michael Dell not the best prognosticator, Apple worth more than Dell – January 16, 2006
Apple now worth more than Dell – January 13, 2006
Whatever became of Mikey?
Yeah. Also, where is the Standard Operations of posting Mickey Doofus near cross eyed portrait? That should be posted with every reference of Michael Dorkk.
Dell is still worth about 18 billion according to one online source.
Only in America…
Hey! He could be Trump’s VP!
Same stellar qualifications – rich & clueless.
Brent Schlender’s book seems to be the ‘definitive’ biography, the one that everyone was expecting Isaacsson’s was going to be (but was never going to, since it was the official, “authorised” one, containing only the information that Steve was willing to provide).
Schlender was apparently close enough to Jobs to have access a lot of personal information, which makes the book interesting enough for the people who already know practically all there is to know about him. His writing style is a bit more dramatic than the dry, researcher narrative of Isaacsson, which makes for a more fun and engaging reading.
In the end, no book can accurately describe the truly remarkable turn of events over the past 20 years.
I did not read Isaacson’s biography “Steve Jobs”, so I will not comment on that. However, I do have his biography “Einstein”. I agree the writing style is dry — I couldn’t manage to finish it. I did find out that Maleva helped him with his theorizing, and that he had another mate who always checked his math. Mainly, he took long walks.
I bought my first AAPL shares in March 1997. The signal I saw was NeXT.
Anyone remember that Ben Curtis/Slacker Steve “Dude You Are Getting a Dull” commercial?
Hey’s been on the tonight show after that, guess he was right to cut bait with Dell.
Dude never got a cell.
Walmart Tannoy:
“Michael Dell, cleanup on aisle 3. Michael Dell, cleanup on aisle 3, make sure you bring the sawdust.”
Watch the video. When Steve Jobs told the audience that Apple would be second to none in execution of manufacturing, I have a hunch that he had a secret weapon in mind:
Tim Cook
Dwell on that.