The Talent Magnet

The three goals, clearly, were intertwined. To attract students, for example, Lee had to show government and university officials that he was not just grabbing the best talent but was also seeking to create a system from which everyone would benefit. In short, Lee needed to build guanxi, the networks of mutually beneficial relationships essential to success. In China, there's no such thing as a purely business relationship. Instead, you must blend formal relationships with personal ones, often on different levels. And even as you take, you must also give back.

Lee understood this from the outset. While some at Microsoft leaned toward building the new lab in business-savvy Shanghai, he chose Beijing, which was home to more top universities and closer to key government agencies. He and his colleagues then called on universities and government officials, entered into academic collaborations, and spoke to thousands of students about what was needed to succeed in the 21st century. The Microsoft lab became the top draw for Chinese computer-science graduates and built top programs in speech recognition, wireless, multimedia, graphics, and search.

For his success, Lee was called back to Redmond and named vice president of Microsoft's natural interactive services division, charged with commercializing features like text-to-speech technologies. But last May, when he learned that Google planned to establish a China R&D lab, he emailed CEO Eric Schmidt, expressing interest in the job. The Google brass bit hard, offering Lee a $2.5 million signing bonus and another $1.5 million after one year, plus stock worth more than $5 million.

Lee inked the deal last July. Microsoft quickly sued to enforce its noncompete clause, drawing headlines around the world. But the firms settled within a few months--and last fall, Lee began putting his guanxi to work for Google.

"It's Overwhelming."

Lee rushed to China for the fall job interview season. Nearly simultaneously, he launched into a book tour, visiting 25 universities in three weeks. Be Your Personal Best is rooted in Lee's imperative of incorporating the best attributes of the United States and the Middle Kingdom. But it also offers something deeper and more personal, describing three concentric circles--representing value, attitude, and action--around which people should evaluate, plan, and live their lives.

It's a self-help book in the best American tradition, but tailored to Chinese tastes--and brilliantly so. Even Lee was astounded by the turnout for his appearances, with an estimated 60,000 young people cramming into halls in the course of the tour. Tickets to the "free" talks were scalped for up to $55 each, a staggering sum for Chinese students, and an online survey ranked him as the most influential person on Chinese university campuses.

"Kai-Fu is a pop star among university students in China," says Wei Sun, dean of the Beihang University College of Software Engineering in Beijing, who has worked with Lee since his Microsoft days. "He is an eloquent speaker. He prepares well. His topics are right on with what the students are keenest to hear." One talk, he remembers, was simply about making presentations, a skill unknown to many Chinese students. Lee carried it off like a motivational speaker. "He was getting into Martin Luther King, 'I have a dream,' " says Sun. "He did things they have never seen before." Lee's message about realizing one's potential found even wider resonance. "It's overwhelming," says Sun.

Students are flocking to Lee's volunteer-run Web site in growing numbers. From about 30,000 registered users just before he left Microsoft, the site has swollen to 110,000 users today, many of them seeking help with fundamental issues of career and life. Typical questions: "Can't female students be software engineers?" "I'm a student of computer science but more interested in marketing and economics. Do you think it makes sense for me to get a master's degree in computer science?"

Not surprisingly, Lee's soaring appeal is already helping Google. Some 10,000 résumés arrived at its Beijing offices in the first two months; the figure is several times that now. Lee had intended to hire 50 R&D staffers during his first year. Now, he notes, "we have found so much talent in China, we have already exceeded our hiring goals. It appears I will easily double that."

Whatever pull Google has for Chinese graduates, for now it's often Lee himself who seals the deal. Xin Zheng, who earned his doctorate in computer science from Tsinghua University early this year, turned down a Microsoft job to join Google as a software engineer. "Kai-Fu is a leader of life values for Chinese students," Zheng says. "He knows a lot of Chinese students' puzzles and problems. His instructions lighten the road ahead."