Almost from the time he created Dell in his dorm at the University of Texas at Austin in 1984 with $1000, Michael Dell has had the good sense to seek counsel from more experienced executives, such as former Navy admiral Bobby Inman, an original Dell director, and later Mort Topfer, a long-time Motorola executive who was Dell’s vice-chairman in the 1990s. He handed the CEO title to longtime president Kevin Rollins in March, 2004. Insiders say Dell, as chairman, is as engaged as ever.