Even though Yu Liang has long stated that Vanke truly does not care about the top position, real estate stakeholders are still watching Vanke's every move. Not only because actions speak louder than words, but also because the company's chairman and founder, Wang Shi—the industry's long-time big brother—has never expressed his views to the public.

Until the evening of July 1, at the CEIBS Master Class, Wang Shi offered an attitude: "Being No. 1 is important, of course, but is being No. 1 really that important?"

It was a brilliant speech. The organizer's notice of Wang Shi's lecture, on a stormy evening, drew thousands of business school devotees. During the two-and-a-half-hour talk, Wang's powerful presence and rich body language made him look like a true celebrity professor or a superstar orator.

Using CEIBS' participation in the traditional business school Gobi Challenge as a starting point, he drew out the enormous pressure leaders face in巡回 competitive challenges that test their limits: honor or survival? Exactly—what he wanted to discuss was Vanke's long-held No. 1 position in the industry, and whether it should be defended.

"Last year Vanke did 170 billion. At the end of last year and the beginning of this year, when Vanke set its plan, some people said 220 billion. My view was 200 billion. Later we found that two other companies had set targets of 240 billion and 250 billion. So what was Vanke's attitude? Some people then asked whether Vanke should raise its target to 240 billion or 250 billion," Wang Shi said.

He began to ask questions like a professor in a classroom: "Vanke has been No. 1 in the industry since 1998. Now two companies have targets of 240 billion and 250 billion. If you were me, what would you do?"

He gave more than 10 audience members the chance to offer suggestions. Some told Wang Shi that he should forget the numbers and explore more valuable directions. Others told him to set an internal target of 250 billion and crush the competitors. Still others said that, as shareholders, they only care about return on net assets.

Wang Shi did not judge whether these suggestions were right or wrong. He explained Vanke's considerations: first, it must integrate with China's transformation from digital growth to efficiency- and quality-driven growth; second, from 1997 to the present, Vanke has always been China's No. 1 real estate enterprise. Even if only symbolically, falling to second place by a few hundred thousand units would cause subtle psychological changes among investors and management, and this cannot be ignored; finally, is being No. 1 a result or a goal? Wang Shi believes it is a result.

He mentioned the Fortune Global 500. This is an identity that one of Vanke's important competitors, Greenland, has proudly announced to the world on different occasions—Greenland is the only Chinese company with real estate as its main business to enter the Fortune 500 list. Wang Shi said, "Vanke has not entered for the sake of entering. Someone may surpass Vanke, but Vanke will definitely enter this list."

"Chinese people like to play Go. When you place a stone in Go, you often need to form a strategy based on the opponent's habits and the situation. Placing one stone requires considering 20 or 30 moves ahead. In fact, Vanke is not only considering reaching 220 billion or 230 billion this year, but also considering next year, the year after, and the year after that. It must be integrated with market changes," Wang Shi said.

"Now, in fact, volume is being viewed as too important. You may set a very high target to defend your honor, but in the end you simply cannot guarantee it," Wang Shi said. "Half the year has passed now, and everyone has seen some rankings. Vanke has already exceeded 100 billion."

Wang Shi changed tack: "It's easy to say, but when you have been No. 1 for consecutive years and need to make changes, the complex mindset is different. When you truly put yourself in that position, the angle is different." These words revealed Vanke's own dilemma. Previously, Vanke employees said in an interview with Economic Observer, "From management to staff, Vanke cannot let go of its No. 1 complex at its core. This has been Vanke's pride for many years."

In 2013, the average weight of 110 mid-level managers at Vanke dropped by one kilogram. Wang Shi explained this as Vanke's new pursuit. In fact, what is better known is that when the curtain of a new era opened, what Vanke did was not move away from its familiar field, but understand new rules, seek new partners, use new tools, and do its existing business better.

For example, Vanke formally proposed its small-share operation strategy this year. Through a light-asset model that exports management and brand, it improves the company's return on net assets, which also means that under the same asset scale it can support a larger operating scale and gain greater market share.

As if to further express this point, Wang Shi mentioned Yuichiro Miura, the record holder for the oldest person to climb Mount Everest. "I originally planned to climb Everest for the third time at 70, aiming for the record. Then he climbed it at 71. I later adjusted my plan to 72, and then he climbed it again at 77, so I adjusted to 78. So you see, saying you don't compete for No. 1 is all fake."

"Then last year he climbed it again at the advanced age of 80. When I saw that, I stopped competing with him. You have to act within your means. His remaining goal is to summit Everest; my goals are more than just that one."

"My paragliding altitude record has stood for 14 years, and I estimate no one will break it in another 10 years. Why? Because in outdoor sports there is a saying: 'Those who climb snowy mountains don't fly paragliders, and those who fly paragliders don't climb snowy mountains.' My takeoff point is at 4,000 meters. Very few people can carry a 20-kilogram pack and climb for three hours to fly a paraglider above the snowline at such an altitude," Wang Shi said, mentioning another of his less famous records, and adding that he had recently fallen in love with rowing at Cambridge University.

The diverse hobbies Wang Shi mentioned easily lead to the following associations: Vanke's implementation of a partnership system, beginning to hold property, refined community operations, cooperation with internet companies such as Baidu, and involvement in logistics real estate—all these new moves mean Vanke is looking for more possibilities.

For the industry leader, Vanke needs to explore new directions on its own and cannot follow existing models, which dooms this to be a difficult transformation. So from Wang Shi's Weibo, we can see that he is still constantly walking, learning from, and exploring—from plants and ethnic groups to history.

"People's goals need constant revision. So I say, when others reach 240 billion or 250 billion, don't follow. Sometimes retreating is more important than advancing," Wang Shi said.