A feature about the women of Optimal Level; their stories, successes, challenges, and opportunities.

Dawne Y. Simmons is the president and founder of WordStorm Communications, Inc.  With more than 20 years of experience in all areas of corporate communications, she assists company leaders develop and promote their strategic messages. For the last 10 years, she has written speeches, presentations, scripts and other business materials for high-level executives in the corporate, government and not-for-profit sectors.  An award-winning speaker, Dawne assists executives improve their on-stage presence. She provides confidential, private coaching sessions that help business leaders quickly improve their presentation skills.

What is your background and how did get into your business/career?
I’ve been running my mouth since the second grade.  This trait often got me into trouble at school, particularly in elementary school.  Few people understood, back then, that my gift of gab could and would lead to a career in communications, where the ability to persuade, entertain and inform are valuable skills.  As a result, writing, speaking and some sort of communications represent the constant threads woven through the tapestry of my career.  After completing both bachelor and master’s in communications areas from Northwestern University, I began a career journey in Public Relations and Corporate Communications.  This journey has touched the corporate, not-for-profit and governmental sectors, as well including most areas of PR such as executive communications, corporate video production, internal communications, media relations, marketing communications, special event planning, promotions and others.  

In my first job out of college, I was given the opportunity to write a speech for a mid-level manager in the company.  This was supported with a speechwriting seminar presented by Jerry Tarver, who is often considered the elder statesman of executive speechwriting.  I loved the seminar, and Jerry Tarver wrote a letter to my supervisor saying that I possessed a real flair for the craft.  I never wrote another speech for that company.  As my career progressed, I wrote more and more speeches.  While often volunteering for those kinds of assignments, I never really focused on that aspect of the career.  

Until.  Until, my last corporate position at Ameritech Corp., where I landed in the executive communications department as one of several speechwriters whose sole function was to provide speaker support.  I loved it.  Today, I focus on the areas of executive communications/speaker support (including speaker coaching), business writing, corporate training and public speaking.

What is your business and how is it unique?
WordStorm Communications, Inc. is a communications consulting company that specializes in executive communications/speaker support, business writing, employee training and public speaking.  

For executive communications, I work very closely with top executives helping them to create, convey and deliver their strategic messages.  Also, I coach executives on their speech delivery.  Clients receive one-on-one support in a confidential atmosphere that enables them to deliver an exceptional presentation.  

For business writing, we provide a wide range of writing support for organizations, including brochures, annual reports, media kits and briefing papers.  

For corporate training, we provide custom-tailored programs that provide employees with practical, easy-to-implement tools in the areas of business writing, team building, leadership development, diversity and cultural competency, consensus building and decision-making.  

As an award-winning and international speaker, I deliver motivating, informative and entertaining lunch ‘n’ learn and keynote addresses.  What makes WordStorm Communications unique is the absolute and total focus on client needs.  I operate from the ironclad position – it’s not about me, it’s about the client.

Who are some of your clients; what do you especially appreciate about them and how have they reacted to your service or product?
WordStorm Communications clients range from Fortune 100 companies to mid-size organizations in both the profit and not-for-profit sectors.  I greatly appreciate the trust given me by my clients, which allows me to play a key part in their strategic messaging.  Client reaction to my services is best demonstrated by the high number of clients who bestow even greater levels of trust by returning with more and new projects.

What do you like best about what you do?
Because my business touches such a variety of topics, I am constantly in the learning mode and always learning something new.  I love immersing myself in a subject and finding that special nugget of information that completely transforms how one looks at a familiar issue.  I love helping executives learn to harness the ‘flutterflies’ that accompany any speaking engagement and to deliver a presentation better than they have before.  I love helping employees understand that business writing and/or team building are skills that can be learned with tools that can support their effort.

What role does passion have in your work?
Passion represents the atmosphere – the living air – that surrounds WordStorm Communications.  It’s always present and permeates everything I do.  Passion provides the colors and flavors that make my work special.  Without it, my writing, speaking and training would look like anyone else’s efforts in the marketplace.

When you first started were you able to visualize your expected final outcome?
Not really.  The final outcome for WordStorm Communications remains a work in progress.  After almost a decade in the business, the company doesn’t look like it did in 2000.  And I don’t expect that it will look in 2020 the way it looks today.  Who could anticipate that employee training would be added to my company offerings.  I certainly didn’t.  Who would have guessed that I would add partnering with authors to help them get their books to print?  I didn’t.  So as I make plans and goals for the company, I also remember that, “life happens while you make other plans,” and try to remain open to new and unforeseen possibilities and opportunities.

Can you tell us about that final outcome – what will your business look like then?
As long as profitably writing and speaking remain in the mix, I’m open to almost any possibility.  Perhaps, I’ll project manage a stable of writers who create the deliverables, while I remain the face to the clients.

What were you top three obstacles/challenges?
My top three challenges or stumbling blocks in starting the company were:
1.)  Finding the self-confidence and belief that I could make a living doing what I loved to do without the protection of a ‘job.’  In other words, simply believing that I could do it and succeed.
2.)  Finding the first few clients that weren’t holdovers from my corporate life.  It was a challenge to pitch to a client who really didn’t know me from my earlier positions.
3.)  When my company was facing severe financial problems, I had to learn to ask for help.  As one who has always been able to figure out solutions to problems and to get up after setbacks, asking for help was a major challenge.  The request for assistance went beyond the specific such as, ‘please introduce me to the communications manager of your company,’ or ‘please help me with some financial -related aspect of my business.’  Rather, the help I needed was all encompassing and required me to say, “I don’t know what I need, but please help me save my business.”

That final stumbling block provided a tremendous learning opportunity.  I learned that people will help you, if asked.  It’s OK to not know what you need, but that you do need.  And most importantly, I learned that my company, along with all it represents in my life, is so much bigger than my ego.

How do you deal with doubt, fear and self recrimination?
Doubt and self recrimination are part of life’s experiences.  I deal with them by talking to them and myself.  I try to live by The Four Agreements, as outlined by author Don Miguel Ruiz.  One talks about always doing your best, but also understanding that your best may change as situations change.  Your best when you have the flu is different from your best when you’re hale and hearty.  So if you always do your best, regardless of the circumstance, then the role of self recrimination diminishes, because each of us can only do our best.  

The question that naturally follows is:  Did you do your best?  If the answer is yes, then I have nothing to be ashamed of or sorry for.  Maybe the result was not what was intended, but that is always a possibility.  If the answer is no, then I must review the situation and make changes going forward.  I try to approach poor results by avoiding the placement of blame or fault and by seeking solutions.

Fear is a different issue.  When I’m truly scared of something, I (internally) ask the fear why it appeared.  Fear is a good thing.  It communicates critical information.  In business situations, fear tells you that an issue is important.  Fear heightens your awareness to your surroundings and situations so that you can interact and react quicker.  Fear is something to be used or harnessed, not avoided.  Yet that is always a challenge.

If you had the opportunity to get the best advice from a business guru, and could ask only one question, what would your question be?
As my business evolves, how do I develop the insight that it is on the right path?  In other words, how do I avoid the pitfalls and cul-de-sacs that consume time and resources that could be used to move forward?

As you look back, what is the one thing you wish you knew when you started?
I’ve always been very comfortable and confident about my communications skills, but wish that I’d known more about business in general, building a business and the financial and tax aspects of running a company.  The financial aspects continue to pose the most frustrating challenge.  Now, at least, I pay for financial assistance.  My comfort level continues to grow, albeit slower than I’d like.

Any regrets?
Regrets are a waste of time, energy and calories.  Every mistake, every success, every doubt and every feeling of confidence are part of my life and business journey.  They represent my steps along this path.  Are there any things that I wish I’d done differently, knowing what I know now?  Sure.  As a lifelong couch potato, I wish that I had continued to run when initially taking up jogging in my 20s.  Once I had established a regular swimming routine, I wish that I had ignored professional and well-meaning advice to incorporate some land-based activities into my exercise regimen.  But do I regret those decisions?  Absolutely not.  I made the best decision possible at the time.

Do you believe luck has something to do with you getting to where you are now?
It’s been said that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity.  I believe that sentiment and always try to be prepared when opportunity knocks.  Also, from my own life experiences, I don’t believe that opportunity knocks only once.  It returns again and again.  The challenge is to recognize opportunity when it returns, because it will appear in different guises with each revisit.

I do believe, however, that I have been blessed – blessed with a strong and loving family, a temperament that enables me to persevere and learn from setbacks, an ability to use my God-given gifts and skills in appropriate ways, and the ability to step ever-so-lightly in another person’s shoes.

What is the best piece of advice you have for other women on their way to their Optimal Level?
Trust your instincts.  Persevere.  And face your fears.  Life is a GLORIOUS adventure, and we only get one chance at it.  Your instincts are your internal B.S. meter.  They have a vested interested in steering you in the right direction.  Now, your instincts may not always be right, but they are never COMPLETELY wrong.  They want what is best for you.  

Perseverance will take you further than education, wealth or looks.  Everyone faces stumbling blocks and setbacks.  The sign of success is the ability to persevere after a setback.  Motivational speaker Les Brown says, “When you fall down, try to fall on your back.  Because if you can look up, you can get up.”  I try to live by those words.

And fear is something to be harnessed, not avoided.  Facing your fears, coupled with trusting you instincts in a managed and thoughtful way, can help you accomplish all that you want.  It’s been said that ‘courage is being afraid and then doing what has to be done anyway.’  I invite you to pick a fear, and then do that thing you’re afraid of.  Even if you don’t succeed 100%, I believe that you’ll be surprised at how much more you will achieve – probably more than you initially expected.  GO FOR IT!!

Any additional comment you would like to make?
Simply, Optimal Level will help you reach your optimal level.  This organization, headed by Linda McCabe, will help you reach your desired goals.  The effort won’t necessarily be easy or comfortable, but it will be successful.  Two questions you need to ask yourself:  How much do you want what you want?  What are you willing to do to reach your goals?  Only you can answer those questions.  But once you find the answers, Linda and the women of Optimal Level will help you.  Linda and the members have such keen insight into the opportunities you may overlook and the stumbling blocks that may appear, all while presenting more than 1 or 2 possible solutions to any predicament.  Optimal Level is an undiscovered diamond, an untapped resource and a special gift to professional women and women in business.