People work best under pressure. A good leader applies it.
That’s according to Dell Technologies CEO and founder Michael Dell, who recently shared his thoughts on dealing in crises on the “Founders” podcast.
Dell Technologies has faced its fair share of crises in its 40-year existence. The dot-com bubble burst, the 2008 financial crisis, and the rise of mobile technology all challenged the technology company.
There have been good times, too. During those periods, a leader shouldn’t act differently, Dell said on the podcast.
Dell shared one of his leadership mantras: “If you don’t have a crisis, make one.”
“We have to change or we’re going to go out of business,” Dell said. “You get people excited, motivated, and to drive the necessary change.”
Being adaptive is a question of leadership, Dell said. He said asked questions like: “How do you organize the team and people to actually go and get this thing done. How do you motivate them? How do you give them the right tools?”
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One element of motivating the workforce may be getting them back together. Throughout 2024, the company pushed a steady RTO policy. By March 2025, the full company was in-person five days a week — though some employees said that policy was up to interpretation.
Dell also warned about being stagnant in adapting to new technology.
“If you’ve been doing something for 10 years or 20 years or 30 years the same way, and all of a sudden it’s like some new thing comes along, you’re like, ‘No, I don’t want to do that,'” Dell said.
Dell Technologies has been on a major AI kick. The company’s top-secret “Project Maverick,” which Business Insider saw internal documents of, promised ot overhaul the company’s operations and streamline all systems, data, and processes into a standardized platform.
Project Maverick is “critical” for Dell Technologies’ AI strategy and future success, according to the internal documents.
“People don’t like to change,” Dell said on the podcast. “But you have to.”
