I missed the news about Lenovo’s CEO Yang Yuanquing last week. I was on vacation and working hard at relaxing. It’s nearly a full time job for me and I can’t say that I am very good at it. But I tried and that is what counts.  This morning in my Google Alerts, I saw this article about how Lenovo’s CEO distributed his yearly bonus to nearly 10,000 junior employees at the PC company. According to the report on CNN, recipients included receptionists, call center assistants and front line employees on the factory floor. The bonus total amounted to $3 million and was titled a “Yuanqing special reward.”

By sharing what was presumably a good year for the company, this gift to employees  is one way to build CEO reputation.  Normally, at least in the U.S., we would hear about CEOs who took $1 in pay when times were tough. And there were several CEOs who did this but not many. Although the Lenovo CEO earned about $14 million for the year, $3 million is no small change. Particularly so if it amounts to approximately one month’s pay for the average Lenovo employee receiving it.

No doubt that this is a generous offer from the 1% to the 99% of this company. Yuanquing’s reputation will now have a halo firmly attached to his good name.