Why Hitting 120,000 served clients Made Me Feel Ashamed

Hello everyone. Today, I originally planned to write something light to share my current mood and thoughts. However, two things happened today that left me with mixed feelings—one is worth celebrating, while the other made me quite uncomfortable. I want to share both of them with you.

01. The Number 120,000 Reminds Me of My Two 20-Year Plans

Today's big news came from our marketing department: the number of clients we have served has reached 120,000.

Logically, we should celebrate this milestone. Instead, this number made me reflect deeply, specifically on two long-term, 20-year plans I set for myself years ago.

The first plan is about running. When I decided to start running, I set a goal to run 40,000 kilometers. There is a story behind this. One day, I watched a movie called To the Fore. During a training scene, a character asks, "Do you know how far it is around the earth? 40,000 kilometers." That number stuck with me. From the day I started running, I committed to reaching 40,000 kilometers. That was years ago, and so far, I have run over 18,000 kilometers. I feel quite a sense of accomplishment on that front.

The second plan is about the company. Last October, during our global conference in Singapore, we officially released our "Global Vision 2045." We set three numerical targets for the year 2045:

● Target One: 1,000 programs. I do not want to serve only the wealthy; I want to serve everyone. Therefore, I hope we can offer 1,000 different programs to cover various demographics. Currently, we have over 100, meaning we are a little over 10% of the way there.

● Target Two: 400 offices serving 200 countries and regions. Currently, we have 55 offices worldwide. The reason is simple: we do not want to serve only Chinese or Asian clients. I even hope that in the future, we can help people from Europe and the Americas relocate to China. It is an interesting concept to work toward.

● Target Three: 1,000,000 served clients. This is the number I value the most. I believe our work must have meaning. I hope one day I can say that I did something that changed the life trajectories of one million families. One million families equate to perhaps five or six million people—roughly the entire population of Hong Kong or Singapore. I think that is something genuinely worth bragging about for a lifetime.

Right now, 120,000 is just one step on the road to one million.

02. 110,000 to 120,000: Do We Really "Only" Have This Many?

Last year, I publicly shared our actual client count: a little over 110,000. This was our internal, verified data without any inflation.

When many domestic and international peers heard this, they reacted by saying, "Really? You only have 110,000?" Their tone carried a bit of surprise, perhaps even mild dismissal.

But I want to emphasize that 110,000 is a substantial number. In terms of sheer volume, we are the largest company in our sector globally. If a company of our size has served 110,000 clients, no one else in this industry has served more—most of our peers' numbers are likely just a fraction of ours.

So, hearing the number 120,000 today genuinely made me happy. We are getting closer to one million. I hope next year it will be 130,000, then 140,000, building up steadily. This was originally a very positive thought.

But something else happened today—something that made me very uncomfortable.

03. My Own Calmness Made Me Feel Ashamed

The incident itself was not massive. This morning, due to the time difference, I was on a call with Tina from our Vancouver office. She mentioned a client dispute. There was an issue with a client's application, but looking at the contract and the overall situation, it was not actually our fault. The delays were due to third parties and government review procedures. Nevertheless, it resulted in an unpleasant situation with the client.

She asked me how to handle it. I told her: We operate by the rules. For now, let's apologize to the client and try to communicate clearly. If that doesn't work, we will resolve it through legal channels. If the law determines we are responsible, we will bear the financial loss.

At the time, I thought I was speaking in a serious and responsible manner. After making the decision, I mentally moved on from the issue.

But this afternoon, when the 120,000 milestone was placed in front of me, I suddenly recalled that morning conversation, and a wave of shame washed over me.

What was I ashamed of? I was ashamed of how calmly I reacted when discussing a client's frustration.

Over the years, I have encountered similar situations so many times that I seem to have become somewhat numb. I suddenly realized that my flat, emotionless reaction at that moment was entirely wrong.

When you are in the service industry and a client is unhappy because of a situation involving your company, if you can remain completely undisturbed, doesn't that mean there is a fundamental problem with your mindset?

04. A Story a Lawyer Told Me Twenty Years Ago

This reminded me of a story I have kept in my mind for over twenty years.

I have worked with many lawyers over the years, but the first lawyer I collaborated with two decades ago was named Mandeville. He is now in his seventies, a highly prominent lawyer based in Hong Kong, just like me. But when I first met him, we were in Beijing.

During a conversation back then, he told me a story about his youth. He said that when he was a junior lawyer, he was very proud of himself one day, thinking he was highly important. His boss ended up giving him a severe scolding, saying:

"Lawyers like you are everywhere. Who you really need to be grateful to is the client—the client who actually dared to entrust their future to a junior lawyer like you. You should be deeply grateful that they trusted and chose you. Do not think about how great you are; the first thing you need to do is show gratitude."

I have used this story to remind myself of the true nature of our industry ever since. So today, when I heard the "120,000 served clients" milestone while simultaneously recalling my detached attitude toward a client complaint, I realized it was time for some serious self-reflection.

05. I Could Make Excuses, But I Don't Want To

To be honest, I could find many operational excuses for myself.

First, our compliance structure is robust. We have a compliance department of about five people, all of whom are qualified lawyers from both China and the US. Furthermore, for certain key programs, I personally oversee the vetting process because I want to ensure absolute accuracy. I conduct background checks and speak with counterparts to assess their character. When it comes to risk control, we put in a lot of effort.

I could also comfort myself with statistics: out of 120,000 served clients, a complaint rate of one in ten thousand is 12 people. One in a thousand is 120 people. What if it is one percent? That is 1,200 people. Statistically speaking, having some client complaints is normal and mathematically expected.

But it is exactly this "probability thinking" that has slowly made me numb.

The moment I heard the number 120,000 today, I asked myself: Is my goal simply to sign 120,000 contracts?

No. I want to rewrite my objective entirely. The number of signed contracts is not the most important metric. What I am really pursuing is this: after experiencing our services, are these 120,000 served clients satisfied?

My true goal is 120,000 satisfied clients. People who, for whatever reason, chose to trust us, and whom we did not disappoint—people who actually achieved a different stage in life with our help. That is what I genuinely want.

06. Two Things to Say: Thank You, and I Am Sorry

Taking this opportunity today—even though reaching 120,000 served clients is technically a milestone to celebrate—there are two things I specifically want to say.

The first is thank you.

I want to say thank you to all the clients who chose to trust us. Thank you for being willing to entrust your future and your family's future to us at such a critical crossroads in your lives.

The second is I am sorry.

I want to apologize to the clients who chose us, but who experienced flaws in our service and were left disappointed. I am truly sorry for failing to fully live up to the trust you placed in us back then.

I promise that I will continue working to improve our capabilities and our service standards across the board. I will do everything in my power to ensure that every client who chooses to trust us walks away satisfied.

Disclaimer: Any reference to 'Hong Kong' on this website refers to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region(Hong Kong SAR).