Can Lenovo do it?

CEO Yang has high hopes for Lenovo's products, such as the Yoga, a laptop whose screen can flip over, turning the device into a tablet.

Yuanqing Yang, the CEO of Lenovo, the giant Chinese computer maker, lives on the north end of Beijing in a gated community of McMansions and expansive lawns that seems a world away from the frenetic bustle of the capital city. Yang's house, built on the shores of a lake, is more French chateau than suburban abode and dwarfs the other homes in the development. One of his deputies called it a mini-Versailles.

Once a year the 48-year-old Yang, who is known as YY, opens his house to a most unusual corporate gathering -- a lavish banquet for his top executives. This year's affair in the spring is a seven-course feast of Chinese and Western delicacies paired with an assortment of premium wines, including a Petrus that was bottled before many of the executives in the room were born. As a serving staff worthy of a Downton Abbey reception brings out dishes and refills glasses, the 18 guests embark on a company tradition. One by one, they stand up, wineglass in hand, to set a goal for their unit -- and to toast it. We'll be No. 1 in smartphones in a large Asian country. Bottoms up. We'll beat HP here, BlackBerry there, and Apple -- yes, Apple -- over there. Bottoms up. We'll boost margins, ramp up production, and expand our retail network. Bottoms up.