Embracing Ambiguity and Risk in Leadership

One of America’s best-known entrepreneurs, Michael Dell, founded his eponymous company out of a University of Texas dorm room. More than three decades later, he’s led his company through multiple transformations, including taking it private, and taking on $50 billion in debt to complete a major acquisition. Dell Technologies is in a new phase of its life--and Dell explains his leadership philosophies that have shaped it all in his new book, Play Nice But Win. Christine Lagorio-Chafkin interviews him about the early growth of his computer company, how his thinking and actions as a leader have changed over the years, and how he’d advise entrepreneurs to reconceptualize their risk-taking.