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Cliff Hakim

Summary & Thoughts

Cliff Hakim is the founder of Rethinking Work, an Arlington, Massachusetts-based career-consulting firm. Since 1990, Cliff’s focus has been to guide and support people, inside and outside of organizations, as they rethink their work. Thus the name of his business, Rethinking Work®, and his most recent book, Rethinking Work: Are you ready to take charge? (Davies-Black, 2007). He is also the author of the business best seller We Are All Self-Employed (Berrett-Koehler, 2nd edition 2003).
      Cliff’s consulting, seminars, and books encourage people to respect themselves and make decisions, from the inside out, that are good for themselves, their families, and their business or organization. Clients search for what is meaningful to them, gain value and skill clarity, and build on and utilize their strengths. Cliff is especially deft at supporting and guiding people to discover their uniqueness and focus—what they really want—and how to build bridges from where they are now in their lives to where they'd like to go in the marketplace. Some clients make a career change or start a business and others realign to become more fulfilled and productive in their current work and organization.

YOU NEED A CHALLENGE: Have you become an expert in your field? Many of you are, but the journey has dulled and the challenge seems over. You look successful, but do you feel that way? Arriving at this point is normal, though there’s not a single reason to capitulate to this plateau. With renewed enthusiasm and creativity, you can learn and master something new.

WORK IS PERSONAL: I don’t want to send you on a quixotic quest for the perfect job. I do want to encourage you to find your own truth and then take your essence to work. In this way you’ll not only be serving others and feeling more joyful, but you’ll be earning a living at it.

REMEMBER, YOU’RE THE BOSS: If you choose to be proactive and to stop waiting on good luck, you’ll have just promoted yourself. From now on, you’ll be the boss. You’ll be responsible for discovering what’s in your heart, for reaching out to find satisfying work rather than merely settling, and for managing the tensions that naturally arise when you enter uncharted territory. In the process, you’ll have to discover what kinds of support you need from others and what kinds of risks you’re prepared to take. Nevertheless, this attitude will allow you to be the prime mover of your life—whether or not you end up reporting to a superior.

ATTITUDE IS A CHOICE: An inner-directed attitude reflects your authenticity—what is most important to you—which defines how you value yourself and your place in the world. With an inner-directed attitude you discover how and why you drive yourself and how you might become of greater value to others.
      An outer-directed attitude is driven by market forces and can lead you to walk another’s path. Then, someday, you’ll look back and see that you missed opportunities to walk your path. An outer-directed attitude can also cause you to stay in a job because it exemplifies the path everyone expected you to follow.

PROFIT FROM STORYTELLING: Several decades ago, I inherited from my grandparents a gooseneck lamp with a green glass shade. The scratched base, frayed cord, tarnished brass, and mottled shade showed little promise to the casual observer. My siblings ignored the lamp, whereas I saw its character. Now, more than thirty years later, that lamp illuminates the foyer of my home and has become a conversation piece.
      My lamp story reinforces my core ability to see potential, and restoration is a subject I broach continually in my work.
      I tell my clients stories like this one and more importantly, encourage them to experiment with and share their own. Meaningful stories build confidence and when purposefully told––from the heart––can demonstrate competence and express uniqueness, setting you apart from the competition.

TRY THE EASY WAY FIRST: If you were to ask me, “What comes easily to you? What is effortless?” my answer would be that since I was a little boy, I’ve had a sensitivity to others’ needs, an awareness of nuances, and an ability to ask good questions. The questions I ask seem to engage people and evoke both fresh thinking and good decision making. They include: What do you most value and why? What do you want less of in life? What skills do you need to use in order to feel most vital?

EXPERIENCE ADDS VALUE: When Cliff was nine years old, he walked past a disabled man selling pencils in front of a department store. Another kid mocked the man. But Cliff knew that the man was simply doing his best, and that self-expression can take on many forms.
      Cliff's sensitivity and radar for personal freedom has become more acute over the years. Through a process called Rethinking Work® he guides others and shows them how to put their entire soul––the full range of their spirit, emotion, and intellect––to work.
      After earning a master’s degree from Boston College in special education. Cliff counseled learning-disabled young adults and helped them to find jobs. Wanting to expand his horizons, Cliff set his sites on the business world. He joined a Boston-based search and placement firm and became an executive search consultant. Now he was placing people in the area of corporate training and organizational development. Cliff’s educational background, integrity, and empathy for others and his zeal for business development––coupled with good timing––allowed him to build his own practice within the firm.
      Cliff distinguished himself by representing the organization and the individual to make good matches. At the same time, he attended the Fielding Institute, a California-based graduate school, to deepen his knowledge of individual and organizational behavior.
      Driven by his desire for greater meaning in his life and responding to countless others who were hungry for the same, Cliff founded Rethinking Work®.

USE YOUR EDGE: Rethinking Work teaches you to use your inner economy––authentic self––to meet the challenges of personal growth, and company and marketplace change, by continuing to apply three basic principles: Seize your right to reflect, give yourself permission to explore, and develop your courage to engage.

You can read more about this process on our Individual and Organizational Client Consulting pages.

Rethinking Work is taking charge of being, challenging, and contributing yourself.

Photo: Larry Osgood