The Ostrich Principle for Competitive Dominance | Generated by AI
The Tuoniao Principle (鸵鸟原理, or “Ostrich Principle”) is a business philosophy popularized by Wang Xing, the founder and CEO of Meituan, China’s leading food delivery and lifestyle services platform. Wang has referenced it multiple times in internal speeches and writings to emphasize the need for absolute superiority in competition—meaning incremental improvements aren’t enough to stand out or dominate; you must be dramatically better to be truly recognized as superior.
The Core Analogy
Wang illustrates the principle with a simple story about birds, drawing from a lesson a mentor once shared with him:
- Imagine a chicken (representing a baseline competitor or yourself).
- A turkey is just a bit bigger (maybe 1–2 times the size). From the chicken’s perspective, it looks similar—nothing revolutionary. You might not even fully recognize or fear it as a distinct threat because the difference feels marginal.
- But an ostrich is much bigger (several times larger, with vastly different capabilities, like running speeds or scale). Now, the chicken clearly sees: “This is totally different—I can’t compete on the same terms.”
In Wang’s words (from a 2014 internal Meituan speech):
“Turkey is a bit bigger than chicken; from an observer’s view, it’s noticeably larger by one or two circles. But to the chicken, the turkey seems about the same size. The ostrich, however, is enormously bigger—several times over. The chicken looks at the ostrich and thinks, ‘Wow, this is completely different from me.’”
What It Means in Practice
- Incremental vs. Disruptive Advantage: Small edges (e.g., 10–20% better efficiency or market share) get overlooked in crowded markets like e-commerce or delivery. Competitors (or customers) treat you as “just another option.” But a 10x leap (e.g., in scale, technology, or user experience) forces recognition and creates a moat.
- Application to Meituan: Wang applied this during Meituan’s early “group-buying wars” (千团大战) against rivals like Groupon clones. He pushed for massive scale and category dominance rather than niche wins, leading to Meituan’s survival and growth into a $100B+ empire. Today, it guides investments in areas like drone delivery and AI logistics, where Meituan aims for overwhelming leads.
- Broader Lesson for Leaders/Entrepreneurs: Don’t settle for “good enough.” Benchmark against the best globally (not just locally), and obsess over building unassailable strengths. As Wang puts it: “In facing problems, for individuals, teams, or the whole company—pursue absolute power. Only then do you have real competitive advantage.”
This principle echoes ideas in books like Zero to One by Peter Thiel (monopoly via unique value) but is grounded in Wang’s pragmatic, battle-tested style from multiple startup failures before Meituan.
For more:
- Wang Xing’s Internal Speeches Compilation (Chinese)
- Long-Term Patience: Meituan’s Growth Logic (Book Excerpts)