IT was early 1993 and I had just joined MIM.  Coordinating my                                                                                         
first course, the Basic Management Programme, I was                                                                                                   
desperately looking for a course leader for the topic                                                                                                 
"Managing Self." The person had to be someone senior and                                                                                    
willing to share his experience with a group of budding                                                                                               
executives.                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Somebody recommended HB, as he was fondly called at MIM. I                                                                                            
found out that the initials stood for Lim Hian Boon, general                                                                                          
manager of Tien Wah Press.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
HB answered my call promptly, and was more than willing to                                                                                            
spend his Saturday morning with the group - gratis. He struck                                                                                         
me as a warm and friendly person with a humble disposition for                                                                                        
one holding such a senior position.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
The participants enjoyed his session tremendously; his simple                                                                                         
examples on how to beat the traffic jam, setting small and                                                                                            
achievable goals, went very well. The youths were interested                                                                                          
to know about his methods and achievements.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
I used to meet HB once in a while mostly due to his                                                                                                   
participation in MIM affairs as a council member, part-time                                                                                           
course leader and former Bath Alumni president. He was well-                                                                                          
groomed, always had a ready smile and was animated in                                                                                                 
conversation.                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
He was a keen sportsman; I had seen him play golf and jog at                                                                                          
Awana, Genting Highlands. His friends said he practised Tai                                                                                           
Chi and Qigong.                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
HB had many varied interests like painting, writing, playing                                                                                          
musical instruments and singing - and excelled in more than                                                                                           
one of these interests.  A colleague at MIM thinks HB could                                                                                           
have easily made a living as an artist.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
The last time I met him was in September 1999. We had invited                                                                                         
him to be a speaker at MIM's Tun Hussein Onn Renewal Awards                                                                                           
Programme (Thora). HB was also a speaker the year before.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
As expected, he was prolific, warm and down to earth,                                                                                                 
interspersing his speech with many of his golf jokes. HB left                                                                                         
deep impres sions on his listeners. He spoke about him self                                                                                           
and how through determination and self-discipline (his wife                                                                                           
Tan Sze Foon calls this "continuous improvement pro gramme"),                                                                               
he rose to the position of manag ing director.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
To no small extent, HB emphasised caring and sharing, of the                                                                                          
need for living and contributing to society. Although not in                                                                                          
the best of health, he was determined to share his philosophy                                                                                         
on life with the mature audience.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
What is so special about HB? By normal standards, as a senior                                                                                         
manager, HB was already contributing much to his company,                                                                                             
family, community and country. What indeed makes this man                                                                                             
different is that he reinvented himself to serve, to savour                                                                                           
life and to make things happen, knowing that he had lung                                                                                              
cancer and not long to live.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Those close to him said that at first he experienced despair,                                                                                         
helplessness and depression. But he soon took hold of himself                                                                                         
and faced reality. He had read and explored sufficiently about                                                                                        
the Big C; now he became determined to fight the disease as                                                                                           
best as he could.                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
He had hope and he gave hope to his loved ones, family,                                                                                               
friends and colleagues. He sought comfort and peace through                                                                                           
God; HB embraced Christianity. He kept his pace, continuing                                                                                           
with his calligraphy, lectures, community work, and office                                                                                            
work, which he did from home at times.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
As the days went by, HB had difficulty using his right hand to                                                                                        
write, draw and eat. With his typical positive attitude, he                                                                                           
trained himself to use his left hand - with such proficiency                                                                                          
that cheques signed with his left hand were accepted by the                                                                                           
banks.                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
"No complaints whatsoever," said his wife Sze Foon, when he                                                                                 
was confined to the wheel chair. After each meal, HB would say                                                                                        
"I enjoyed every meal that I can still eat with my own hands.                                                                                    
I have no grounds to complain."                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
HB Lim hailed from Lukut in Negeri Sembilan.  After excelling                                                                                         
at the Chong Hwa School in Port Dickson - where he was the                                                                                            
head prefect and where he won awards for elocution, art and                                                                                           
singing - HB enrolled at the Tunku Abdul Rahman College where                                                                                         
he was active in extra- curricular activities.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
He entered Universiti Malaya and was the first president of                                                                                           
the Business Administration Alumni after having obtained an                                                                                           
honours degree in economics.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
HB often described himself as a "salesman by birth." He                                                                                     
progressed from being a sales manager at American Express to                                                                                          
area marketing manager.  He claimed he did not know anything                                                                                          
about printing, but ended up as the managing director of Tien                                                                                         
Wah Press.                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
His leadership qualities, his ability to make things happen,                                                                                          
surfaced again. He transformed the company, taking it to new                                                                                          
heights. He negotiated joint ventures with foreign partners,                                                                                          
and helped list Tien Wah Press on the KLSE.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
HB kept on learning. He acquired an MIM- Bath MBA degree in                                                                                           
1989 and was enrolled on a PhD programme.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
HB likened himself to an "objective-driven" CEO. His early                                                                                  
training in sales had made him pushy and prospect clients all                                                                                         
the time. He made it a point to call a number of them in a                                                                                            
day.                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
A people-centred person, HB propounded the "split-second                                                                                         
managing" theory. By this, he said he was equal to any staff                                                                                     
member. For example, in a meeting, staff members could say                                                                                            
their piece and question him. The only exception is the split                                                                                         
second when the CEO makes a decision - for which he is                                                                                                
responsible, and also his prerogative.  At other times, he is                                                                                         
one of them.                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
How HB learned to write and speak the Japanese language shows                                                                                         
his determination. He set aside 15 minutes a day to learn                                                                                             
Japanese. To do this, he carried something small in Japanese.                                                                                         
He browsed, read, memorised while waiting for food at a                                                                                               
restaurant or waiting for his wife or children.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
"Fifteen minutes is so easily lost if not utilised," he said.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Asked about his philosophy, HB had this to say: "By                                                                                              
contributing my time and talent, I am investing in people -                                                                                           
people who will be leaders tomorrow."                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
HB passed away on Nov 24, 1999, at the relatively young age of                                                                                        
46. As eulogised by so many during a memorial service, his                                                                                            
death was indeed a great loss.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
They told of a good and kind man, a hardworking and committed                                                                                         
CEO, a concerned citizen who did more than his fair share for                                                                                         
society through the Rotary Club and other groupings, a man who                                                                                        
made friends easily. Most of all, HB was a loving husband and                                                                                         
father.                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
MIM CEO Dr Tarsicius Chin was moved to say: "HB was more than                                                                                    
a friend. He was a fine man, a high achiever, an exemplary                                                                                            
role model both in private and public life. He experienced a                                                                                          
full life - the highest quality that a person could ever hope                                                                                         
to attain in 46 years. He has departed, but to those whose                                                                                            
lives he had touched, he has certainly left unmistakable                                                                                              
footprints."                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
We are fond of voicing sentiments that call for higher                                                                                                
standards of excellence. In many aspects of human activity, we                                                                                        
try to quantify standards with benchmarks. The pace seems to                                                                                          
be set when we enter school. Somehow or other, we are measured                                                                                        
against yardsticks of performance throughout our life.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
But searching for excellence is not a numbers game. We need                                                                                           
not necessarily compete with others. The real quest for                                                                                               
excellence is within us, to want to do better all the time and                                                                                        
to make full use of our talent for the welfare of all.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
The story of HB Lim is an attempt to give a human face to the                                                                                         
search for excellence. Human excellence is not a matter of                                                                                            
coming up first in an examination; it is about how successful                                                                                         
we have been in fulfilling our destiny.