Singapore: This Saturday sees the launch of an inspirational book at a plush gallery about in-house leadership from one of the top names at Singaporean terminal operator, PSA.
Caroline Lim is head of PSA’s human resources and corporate affairs, her illustrated book, Wonderland, Through Caroline’s Looking Glass, has seen her burning the midnight oil for much of the past 12 months on her debut oeuvre. Not only did she write it, but also all the illustrations are her own too.
On the genesis for writing the book, Lim says: “

Throughout my career in HR, I have come to realise that two things can make or break an organisation – the first being its culture and the second being the quality of its leadership. While many people are aware of this, I have also come to realise that not many have first-hand experience in transforming organisations.



”
As the book title suggests Lim has placed her message along the lines of the famous Lewis Carroll novel.
“A fairytale allegory with corporate messages, Wonderland is intended to speak to leaders, change agents and anyone interested in organisational culture change,” she explains.
The book shares some of Lim’s real-life experiences, encapsulating lessons learnt over 30 years of HR in Asian, European and American headquartered MNCs.




“The story of Wonderland formed the perfect premise for my own story because, like the familiar story of Alice in Wonderland, culture change requires that we look past the improbable, to see what could be possible,” she says.




Parallel to the fairytale narrative are practical ‘Tips, Tools and Traps’ for application in a corporate context. The entire work is presented in a form reminiscent of a children’s story book, peppered with Lim’s own illustrations of an imaginary world, making it accessible to both the young and old.
When an illustrator let her down, Lim stepped into the breach, unearthing a previously hidden talent. “They say that necessity is the mother of invention and given that I was quite a stickler about how I wanted the drawings rendered, the only recourse opened to me was to do the illustrations myself,” she says modestly.
What with the full time job at PSA, Lim found herself working from 10pm to 3am almost every day for six months on the book. Despite the tiring work, the experience, she admits, has been exhilarating.
The book is available to buy here from October 26. [23/10/13]
