Working women’s choice: Lim, their Man of the Year

Dato’ Lim Kok Wing, the advertising mogul, looks every inch the self-made man. The purposeful and heavy gait, the strong and bullish bearing, the richly seasoned face. Mmm… undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with.

Despite the fact that the organisers and sponsors of the event and we at Woman at Work were excited over his winning the Man of the Year Award, Dato’ Lim continued to exude that unmistakable air of someone who is cool about accolades of any kind.

It is inexplicable, but each time we meet Dato’ Lim and ask him to talk at length about his achievements and successes, he manages to squirm his way out of answering directly. Instead he’d let you hear the achievements and successes of others!

Could he be The Great Gatsby, albeit the Malaysian version, or is it that he just detests blowing his own trumpet? Perhaps both.

It seemed that to know the Dato’, you’ve got to drop by the local pubs that are the haunts of the advertising yuppies and diehards. You can then eavesdrop on the good works of the Dato’ which are said and spread there – bottoms up! Can you imagine that? Incredible guy.

Finally, after going round the bush several times, so to speak, we managed to squeeze out the answer from Dato’ Lim regarding how he felt about winning the Man of the Year Award. Again he did it! He showered more praise on others.

"I feel good. I feel flattered. I don’t think the readers have done the right thing. I think there are others who may have done more for women. I’m very lucky to be working with very motivated women. They have helped me a great deal.

"I bank very heavily on their capability, dedication, loyalty. In this business, I must delegate work to senior - and middle-level managers to see that work gets done for our clients. I see some of these managers once a week. nd I don’t see some of the other staff for a couple of weeks each time.

"But they play their part efficiently. They perform extremely well, based on my handwritten notes or phone calls to them. They receive my notes every morning and they get going. They also write back or speak to me over the phone. I am an exponent of effective communication!

"Fifteen years ago when I struck out on my own, I knew exactly what I was in for and what I would be doing. They are the things I’m doing now. To get better or achieve the best, you must never be satisfied at a first attempt. You must always appraise and critique your work.

"In the advertising business, you have to produce your best. If you don’t, then you are not giving your teammates enough support and cannot feel pride of place. When you go for the best, you are in sync and won’t feel any pressure.

"I have young and energetic people working here. They work very hard and produce very good work. It is part of the culture. You can’t get away with poor quality or mediocre work. They are achievement-oriented and believe that work must be performed with integrity, sincerity and commitment. Clients appreciate this sort of priority.

"We are small compared to the internationally-linked advertising agencies. It is not difficult to understand why so many women are playing dominant roles. Your more caring nature, sense of loyalty and ability to handle even the smallest details frequently set you apart from your male counterparts, and render them pale in comparison.

"The majority of my senior managers happen to be women. It is clearly my good fortune that I have always had around me highly motivated, highly intelligent and highly dedicated individuals who happen to be women. They have contributed richly to what I have been able to do all this while. Can you imagine a world without women?

"Some days ago, I asked my wife what it is of me that she liked best. And she said, ‘Your ability to treat me as your equal’." Dato’ Lim was nominated by Yeong Yin Cheng, the media and research director of The Ball Partnership. The reader who won a prize for the best slogan was Zuraidah Omar, the company secretary of a local bank.

Apart from the award, Dato’ Lim also won a RM1,000 shopping voucher, courtesy of Parkson Grand, a toiletries hamper from Aramis, a set of man’s accessories from Goldlion and a free year’s subscription to Women at Work.

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