Speaking & leadership lessons
Bring Donnie’s business experience and Six C’s perspective to a leadership audience. Discuss the people attending, the occasion, and the questions most relevant to them.
Donnie W. Downs works with aspiring leaders, experienced executives, and teams through speaking, coaching, workshops, and leadership consulting. The conversation connects demanding standards with responsibility for people.
Standards, care, connection, and character. A short look at Donnie’s recorded talks and leadership conversations.
By a show of hands, how many leaders do we have here?
You are all leaders.
And what you’re talking about are, at the end of the day, standards. What are the standards that we’re going to abide by?
Every single thing that is going on, be at the ready to jump in and assist.
Care. Act like you care. Your body language says more than your words.
You have to be connected.
We do it all with character.
Your words have power. Use them wisely.
Use it for good, ladies and gentlemen.
On screen: Donnie W. Downs. Demanding standards. Responsibility for people. Speaking & consulting. TheCrimsonStag.org.
Leadership asks people to deliver and asks leaders to create the conditions for that work. Donnie’s perspective connects preparation, clear expectations, accountability, and character with the relationships that make a workplace worth belonging to.
His years running technology businesses and working on corporate culture inform a direct conversation about everyday decisions. What does your team need to know? What tools and preparation are missing? Are your actions consistent with the standards you ask others to meet?
Through Crimson Stag, speaking, coaching, workshops, and consulting provide ways to examine those questions. The starting point is your audience and situation: people taking on responsibility, executives navigating change, or teams looking at how they work together.
For aspiring leaders taking on responsibility, experienced executives navigating growth or change, teams examining expectations, trust, and collaboration. A useful starting point is the situation your team faces: a new responsibility, a difficult decision, a period of change, or the gap between stated values and everyday conduct.
FormatsBring Donnie’s business experience and Six C’s perspective to a leadership audience. Discuss the people attending, the occasion, and the questions most relevant to them.
Make room for a focused conversation about leadership responsibilities, preparation, accountability, and relationships. Individual conversations and small-group sessions are established Crimson Stag formats.
Use the Six C’s as a shared language for examining expectations and everyday conduct. Discuss your team’s context and priorities with the speaking team when exploring a workshop.
Talk with Donnie about the leadership and culture questions facing your organization. An inquiry establishes the context and helps identify an appropriate conversation or engagement.

Tell us who the audience is, what is happening in your organization, and what you want the conversation to address.
Include a date or timeframe, location, approximate group size, and the format you are considering, if known.
The speaking team can clarify availability, scope, and next steps for a speaking, coaching, workshop, or consulting inquiry.
Prefer a direct conversation? Email DeAnneCatterton@TheCrimsonStag.org or call 443-684-0815.
Donnie’s Six C’s Value Execution Model gives leaders language for the habits behind culture. His book, The Invisible Foundation, explores those ideas through his business experience and personal stories.
Looking for a place to gather? Explore Crimson Stag Farm in Lothian, Maryland. Stays and venue inquiries have their own booking and contact routes.
Listen to Donnie’s Holy Cross conversation