Meet the New Boss…

Sometimes in the realm of individuals or companies making things up, it just so happens that no additional commentary is needed to highlight the inherent making-it-upness of the issue in question.

So read and enjoy these excerpts, with emphasis added, from the Sunday New York Times’ front-page business story, “Can Michael Dell Refocus His Namesake?” They tell the whole story, I think…

ON a recent afternoon at his company’s headquarters here, Michael S. Dell is seated in a spacious conference room named Dobie Hall — in honor of the University of Texas dormitory where, in 1984, he started the computer giant that bears his name. He boasts that Dell Inc. has just reported quarterly profits that exceeded Wall Street projections. It’s an encouraging sign, he says, that the company — buffeted by high-profile production problems and accounting shenanigans — is finally regaining momentum. Over the last few years, Dell, once the gold standard among PC makers, has simply overlooked major growth trends in personal computing. It missed significant shifts in notebook computer sales and the consumer market as a whole, lagged competitors in international sales, and lost the profit edge that it enjoyed from its superior procurement-and-supply network. Hewlett-Packard having overcome its own woes, passed Dell last year as the largest seller of PCs worldwide. Dell’s ills also extend beyond the nuts-and-bolts of making and marketing PCs. After a yearlong internal investigation, Dell conceded last month that some managers had falsified quarterly results to meet sales targets from 2003 to 2006…. “The company was too focused on the short term, and the balance of priorities was way too leaning toward things that deliver short-term results — that was the major root cause,” explains Mr. Dell, dressed for the Texas summer in a short-sleeved polo shirt and jeans.

Same as the old boss?

Jeff Matthews I Am Not Making This Up

© 2007 NotMakingThisUp, LLC

The content contained in this blog represents the opinions of Mr. Matthews. Mr. Matthews also acts as an advisor and clients advised by Mr. Matthews may hold either long or short positions in securities of various companies discussed in the blog based upon Mr. Matthews’ recommendations. This commentary in no way constitutes a solicitation of business or investment advice. It is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.