Building Industry, Serving China
Staying Grounded, Moving Forward
Turn a 5% Chance into 100% Reality
Build the Business by Developing Its People
Core values
Put the Company First
Put the Organization Before the Individual
Put the Whole Before the Part
Staying Grounded, Moving Forward
Face the Facts. Be Honest with Yourself.
Turn 5% into 100%
People First
Build the Business by Developing Its People
Create a Stage with No Limits
Put the Company First
The company's success makes every other interest possible. When weighing priorities and making trade-offs, put the company first. For everyone at Lenovo, this principle guides decisions when they matter most.
See Interests in a Broader Context — Look beyond immediate concerns and individual interests to consider the bigger picture and the long term. Individuals serve the organization, each part serves the whole, and the enterprise serves society.
Staying Grounded, Moving Forward
Stay Grounded — Face the facts and be honest with yourself. Act with integrity, take responsibility, and keep your word. Staying grounded requires both the right mindset and the ability to act on it. At Lenovo, cutting corners—with customers or with yourself—is unacceptable.
Keep Moving Forward — Look beyond immediate gains and aim higher. Think beyond established experience with imagination and creativity. Push beyond your own limits,Turn a 5% Chance into 100% Reality. This tenacity is part of Lenovo's DNA.
People First
Build the Business by Developing Its People — One of Liu Chuanzhi's best-known principles: value people's contributions, respect their needs, and create the conditions for them to grow.
Lenovo gives employees room to realize their talents and ambitions, with no ceiling on what they can achieve. Whoever you are, if you have the ability and the drive, Lenovo gives you the opportunity.
The Lenovo Spirit
The spirit that took Lenovo from a small bungalow in Zhongguancun to the world
"Turn a 5% chance
into a 100% reality"
Building Industry, Serving China
In 1984, 11 researchers set out from a 20-square-meter bungalow in Zhongguancun, driven by a belief in serving China through industry. Their ambition was to prove that Chinese people could build a world-class technology company, rather than simply make their own fortunes.
From breaking the dominance of foreign PC brands to acquiring IBM's personal computer business and becoming the world's leading PC maker, Lenovo has pursued its mission to serve China through industry at every step. This is a conviction shared by generations of Lenovo people.
Entrepreneurial Culture
In those early years, Lenovo people often said, "Turn a 5% chance into a 100% reality." That refusal to give up or accept their circumstances took Lenovo from distributing AST computers to manufacturing its own, and ultimately to becoming China's leading PC maker.
Facing giants such as IBM, HP and Dell, Lenovo met the challenge head-on, determined to champion Chinese industry. That is Lenovo's entrepreneurial spirit.
A Commitment to Reality
Face the Facts. Be Honest with Yourself. — At the heart of Lenovo's culture is a commitment to being honest and direct: no pretence, no deception, just the facts.
Liu Chuanzhi once said, "What we fear most is deceiving ourselves: blaming the environment for poor market performance, or blaming others for poor products." Lenovo places great emphasis on reviewing its work to understand what really happened and identify the problems.
A Drive to Progress
Keep Moving Forward. Never Grow Complacent. — After becoming China's leading PC maker, Lenovo acquired IBM's PC business to expand internationally. After reaching the top globally, it moved into servers, mobile devices and cloud computing.
As Liu Chuanzhi put it, "First, make the most of the rice in your bowl. Then actively prepare the rice in the pot." Taking care of what is in your bowl means staying grounded; preparing what is in the pot means looking ahead. Both are essential.
The Three Essentials of Management
Liu Chuanzhi's management philosophy — build the leadership team, set the strategy, develop the people
"Build the leadership team. Set the strategy. Develop the people."
Liu Chuanzhi distilled these three essentials from years of management experience. The leadership team sets the strategy and leads the organization, making the right leadership team the first priority.
Build the Leadership Team
Establish a System of Collective Leadership
A united leadership team is the first condition for a business to grow. Its leader plays a central role, but even the most capable individual cannot match the strength of people working together. Collective wisdom is essential.
First — The leader must be open-minded enough to recognize that the team also exists to keep their own power in check.
Second — Put every view on the table. Anything said before a decision is agreed remains open to discussion.
Third — Never allow factions to form. Factionalism can destroy an organization and must be prevented.
Set the Strategy
Think Far Ahead. Stay Grounded.
Strategy must translate into action. Lenovo has always moved forward through clearly defined stages, one practical step at a time.
Secure Today's Business. Prepare for Tomorrow. — Reaching for the next opportunity before securing today's business can put the company in danger without anyone noticing. Yet focusing only on today's business leaves no future. Lenovo's strategic wisdom lies in balancing both.
Develop the People
Develop People Through Culture
Lenovo asks its people to bring three commitments to their work: responsibility from frontline employees, ambition from middle managers, and dedication to the business from senior leaders.
Leaders such as Yang Yuanqing, Guo Wei and Zhu Linan share a conviction: "Lenovo's mission is my mission. Lenovo's success is my success." That sense of belonging helps people resist temptation and truly see Lenovo as their home.
The Lenovo Method
Clarity of Purpose · Phased Execution · Review and Learn
Clarity of Purpose
Start with the Purpose — Start by understanding why. Take aim before you act.
Step Back to See the Whole Picture — As work progresses, step back regularly and revisit its fundamental purpose. Keep the bigger picture in view. Staying focused on the purpose is how intentions become results.
Phased Execution
Treat a Marathon Like a Marathon — Goals take time to achieve. Weigh priorities and urgency, allocate resources, and understand the conditions and constraints.
Look ahead and break a major ambition into smaller goals, then advance step by step. Give each stage clear milestones and measures of success. This is how Lenovo turns ambitious plans into achievements.
Review
Review While the Experience Is Fresh — Review every outcome, whether success or failure. Was the original objective right? What worked along the way? What could be improved?
Reviews are a way to learn. They turn experience into repeatable lessons, help prevent recurring mistakes, and build the knowledge needed for long-term growth.
Culture in Practice
Lenovo's Culture in Action
From Trade–Manufacturing–Technology to Technology–Manufacturing–Trade
In the 1990s, Lenovo chose a trade–manufacturing–technology model: build capital through trading, then invest in production and technology. It was a pragmatic response to the conditions of the time.
Secure Today's Business — Manufacturing required approvals that were out of reach, while technology development needed funding in a market without venture capital. Trading generated the resources to support both. Survival created the foundation for future investment in technology.
Acquiring IBM's PC Business
In 2004, Lenovo made the bold decision to acquire IBM's personal computer business. It embodied the spirit of turning a 5% chance into a 100% reality: where many saw doubt, Lenovo saw opportunity.
The Three Essentials in Action — Lenovo first built a leadership team that brought Chinese and international expertise together, set its international strategy, and united its people through Lenovo's culture. It turned a 5% chance of success into reality, ultimately becoming the world's leading PC maker.
The Choice on Equity Ownership
In the 1990s, Liu Chuanzhi faced a choice: pursue personal gain behind closed doors, or openly ask the academy's president for an equity stake. He chose the latter, making the case that the company's founders should share in its ownership.
The Power of Facing Reality — "I need to be at peace with myself." Through his actions, Liu Chuanzhi demonstrated what it means to face reality and put the company's interests first. Lenovo's management team ultimately used its dividend income to purchase a 35% stake.
Decisions During the Pandemic
During the pandemic, Lenovo responded quickly, adjusting supply chains and production plans to maintain product availability. Its response reflected the Lenovo method: clarity of purpose, phased execution, and review and learning.
Putting People First in Practice — Protecting employees while meeting customer needs showed what putting the company's interests first means in practice: finding a balance that safeguards the interests of everyone involved.
The Three Commitments of Lenovo People
Responsibility
Frontline employees take responsibility for their work and their customers, keep their promises, and do the job properly.
Ambition
Middle managers strive for better rewards and greater opportunities to grow, always looking beyond where they are today.
Dedication
Senior leaders make Lenovo's mission their own and see Lenovo's success as their own success.
Join Lenovo
If you believe in staying grounded and striving for more
If you are ready to turn a 5% chance into a 100% reality
If you want to put your talent to work with no ceiling on your potential
Lenovo Welcomes You
Put the Company First · Stay Grounded, Strive for More · Put People First
