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 Cathy and Gary Hawk
Clarity International
Fifteen years ago, Gary Hawk decided to work for himself coaching and mentoring business leaders. While he was building that business, he was given some very wise advice: “All good businesses had a continual product improvement program,” he says. “Since my product was basically me, I needed to do work that studied the human condition beginning with my own self reflection.”
Gary’s business partner and wife Cathy Hawk took an 18-month sabbatical to learn everything that she could about passion and energy, and studied many disciplines “from applied kinesiology to eastern energy systems to intuition to heart math physiology to coaching to quantum physics to intuitive medicine,” she says. “I knew that if I could energize myself, then I could use what I had learned to help others when they were stuck.”
Together, Gary and Cathy founded Clarity International as a training and coaching firm that teaches skills for how to see, sense and use energy as a primary life and work strategy. Through retreats and workshops, Clarity International gives individuals and leaders clarity of vision and purpose, a deep understanding of what energizes them and a riveting focus on making it happen.
Q: What do you find most fulfilling
about running your business?
C&GH: We love hearing clients put voice to their most expansive visions and see their energy shift as they begin to know it’s possible to achieve them. We love watching them take this energetic knowledge and change the way they operate in their lives and workplaces. As they let their own energy drive how they make choices, relate to people and take action, they truly do make a difference in their world. Hearing from clients years later that they continue to use this knowledge to fully live each day is very fulfilling.
Q: What motivated you to start
this business?
CH: My early motivation was my desire to discover what I was really passionate about. I began to ask myself, what am I going to do with the rest of my life that creates passion and energy?
GH: My personal interests have always been entrepreneurial and primarily in the people side of business. Creating a work environment that ignites everyone’s passion and purpose, where everyone is engaged and excited to be there has been the primary focus for much of my career both as a business owner and as a senior executive in larger companies.
Q: What book has been most helpful
to you in your business?
CH: The A to Z Steps to a Richer Life by Deepak Chopra, M.D. I’m a master gardener, so one of the books that guides my gardening is Right Plant, Right Place by Nicola Ferguson. When I began Clarity I realized that this same basic concept applied to the people I was coaching – helping people be in the right place by learning what energizes them.
GH: First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman put into print what I studied in the 1970s about what is required to find, hire and retain the most qualified people. And The Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes was the beginning of my spiritual path.
Q: Who has influenced you most
in your life?
CH: First, my mom, a school teacher, and my dad, an inventor. It was their influence that led me to be a developer and teacher of the Clarity system and tools. Another major influence was an early employer, Ron Sofield. He sent me on many different trainings that related to human development, and we developed an interview system to ask our dental patients what they wanted. It was an introduction to asking people what they really want.
GH: My parents also had a great influence by teaching me the value of independence, humor and building long-term relationships. Don Clifton, the founder of Selection Research (later Gallup), influenced me through the work he pioneered in putting the right talent in the right position and giving them space and support to flourish.
Q: What has proved to be your most
successful marketing strategy?
C&GH: Our most successful strategy is providing excellent service to our clients which leads to the results they want and then to referrals. Clients are transformed by the work they do with us. As a result, they look and act differently. This transformation is so visible that people notice and want to know what caused the difference.
Our client referrals are supported by our getting in front of people as often as we can – small workshops, speaking and networking.
Q: What have been the greatest
challenges you have had to overcome, or are currently facing,
in your business?
C&GH: Our greatest challenge is the inertia of our potential clients. Even when they believe Clarity can make a difference in their lives, they have difficulty in enrolling themselves in their own self development.
Q: How did you benefit from participating
in a Make-it-Fly® board?
C&GH: There are several benefits: having a systematic methodology for getting things done and a board of peers who help us stay accountable to the actions we commit to has been the primary benefit. Another benefit is the connection to a group of peers who understand the joys and challenges of being a small business owner.
Q:
What would you say to other business owners who are contemplating
getting involved in a Make-it-Fl® board?
C&GH: Continual product improvement is a solemn responsibility of every business leader. A significant part of that self improvement is learning from the association with a group of peers. We all learn from mistakes, but the mistakes do not have to be our own. Being in an open dialogue with other leaders helps you learn from others’ mistakes. So, join Make-it-Fly®.
Gary and Cathy Hawk can be reached by phone at: 303-333-4757, or visit their web site at: www.getclarity.com.
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