#534: Michael Dell, Founder of Dell — Early Failures, Battling Carl Icahn, Learning from the Competition, and How to Play Nice But Win
The Tim Ferriss Show
Tim Ferriss: Bestselling Author, Human Guinea Pig
4.6 • 17.7K Ratings
🗓️ 28 September 2021
⏱️ 59 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Michael Dell, Founder of Dell — Early Failures, Battling Carl Icahn, Learning from the Competition, and How to Play Nice But Win | Brought to you by Wealthfront automated investing, Helix Sleep premium mattresses, and Tonal smart home gym. More on all three below.
Michael Dell (@MichaelDell) is chairman and chief executive officer of Dell Technologies, an innovator and technology leader providing the essential infrastructure for organizations to build their digital future, transform IT, and protect their most important information. He is the author of Play Nice But Win: A CEO’s Journey from Founder to Leader.
Michael is an honorary member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum and is an executive committee member of the International Business Council. In 1999, he and his wife, Susan Dell, established the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.
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This episode is also brought to you by Tonal! Tonal is the world’s most intelligent home gym and personal trainer. It is precision engineered and designed to be the most advanced strength studio on the market today. Tonal uses breakthrough technology—like adaptive digital weights and AI learning—together with the best experts in resistance training so you get stronger, faster. Every program is personalized to your body using AI, and smart features check your form in real time, just like a personal trainer.
Try Tonal, the world’s smartest home gym, for 30 days in your home, and if you don’t love it, you can return it for a full refund. Visit Tonal.com for $100 off their smart accessories when you use promo code TIM100 at checkout.
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This episode is also brought to you by Helix Sleep! Helix was selected as the #1 overall mattress of 2020 by GQ magazine, Wired, Apartment Therapy, and many others. With Helix, there’s a specific mattress to meet each and every body’s unique comfort needs. Just take their quiz—only two minutes to complete—that matches your body type and sleep preferences to the perfect mattress for you. They have a 10-year warranty, and you get to try it out for a hundred nights, risk free. They’ll even pick it up from you if you don’t love it. And now, to my dear listeners, Helix is offering up to 200 dollars off all mattress orders plus two free pillows at HelixSleep.com/Tim.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode is brought to you by Tonal T-O-N-A-L. Get ready for the smartest home gem you've ever seen. |
| 0:06.2 | That's a men's health headline about Tonal. If you're wondering about the smart part, Tonal's homepage also features a quote from the New York Times. |
| 0:12.7 | Quote, the machine knew my strength better than I did. End quote. By eliminating traditional metal weights, Tonal can deliver 200 pounds of resistance in a device smaller than a flat screen TV. |
| 0:23.1 | Tonal mounts on your wall with no floor space required. |
| 0:26.1 | I've had a Tonal unit now for six to 12 months and it allows me to do things I would normally need a much larger gym for like cable, chop and lift or rotational exercises things I wrote about in the four hour body. |
| 0:38.4 | And it allows me to do these things that are nearly impossible otherwise like eccentric loading, which I'll mention later. |
| 0:44.5 | Tonal is precision engineered and designed to be the world's most advanced strength studio and personal trainer. |
| 0:49.9 | It uses breakthrough technology like adaptive digital weights and AI learning together with the best experts in resistance training so you get stronger faster. |
| 0:58.3 | So what are these adaptive digital weights? Tonal's patented digital weight system makes thousands of calculations a second to deliver you a smooth weightlifting experience using advanced electronic motor technology. |
| 1:10.0 | Tonal lets you adjust the weight in one pound increments, something that was never possible with traditional dumbbells. |
| 1:15.4 | It's easy to dial weights up and down with the touch of a button right in the grip itself. It's pretty cool. |
| 1:20.6 | Tonal also has built in dynamic weight modes like chains, eccentric, that's ecc, ENTRIC and their patent pending smart flex technology so that you can experiment with more ways to get stronger, faster without the hassle of extra equipment like chains and bands. |
| 1:35.1 | So try Tonal T-O-N-A-L, the world's smartest home gym for 30 days in your home and if you don't love it, you can return it for a full refund. |
| 1:45.8 | Visit www.tonal.com, that's T-O-N-A-L and for a limited time get $100 off of smart accessories when you use promo code Tim100 at checkout. |
| 1:53.4 | That's www.tonal.com promo code Tim100. Tonal, be your strongest. |
| 2:01.0 | This podcast episode is brought to you by Helix Sleep. Sleep is super important to me in the last few years. I've come to conclude it is the end-all be-all that all good things, good mood, good performance, good everything seem to stem from good sleep. |
| 2:19.1 | So I've tried a lot to optimize it, I've tried pills and potions, all sorts of different mattresses, you name it, and for the last few years I've been sleeping on a Helix Midnight Lux mattress. |
| 2:31.9 | I also have one in the guest bedroom and feedback from friends has always been fantastic. It's something that they comment on. |
| 2:38.4 | Helix Sleep has a quiz, it takes about two minutes to complete, that matches your body type and sleep preferences to the perfect mattress for you. |
| 2:46.2 | With Helix, there's a specific mattress for each and every body, that is your body, also your taste. |
| 2:52.4 | So let's say you sleep on your side and like a super soft bed, no problem. Or if you're a back sleeper who likes a mattress that's as firm as a rock, they've got a mattress for you too. |
| 3:01.4 | Helix was selected as the number one best overall mattress pick of 2020 by GQ Magazine, Wired, Apartment Therapy, and many others. |
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