In this episode, Sharon chats with Patti Johnston from Core Dynamics as she shares her inspiring journey from dancing on her grandfather’s feet to founding a successful dance studio rooted in strong core values. Patti emphasizes the critical role of core values like healthy development, customer care, professional integrity, innovation, and community in shaping a positive business culture. She highlights how aligning staff with these values ensures buy-in, fosters better teamwork, and leads to student success stories. Patti underscores the ripple effect of a strong culture on retention, referrals, and overall satisfaction for both customers and staff.
Patti also delves into practical strategies for defining and implementing core values in a business. From annual team training to creating a safe environment for growth, she stresses the importance of clarity and alignment in maintaining a thriving workplace culture. For businesses seeking to refine their own values and culture, Patti offers her expertise and invites listeners to reach out to discuss personalized training sessions. Tune in to learn how cultivating a strong culture can transform your team and delight your customers.
About Patti Johnston
Patti Johnston is a highly experienced dance educator and Pilates instructor with over 30 years of teaching expertise. She has trained thousands of students, from beginners to professionals, offering classes that build technical skill, resilience, and a passion for dance. A dedicated advocate for holistic training, Patti incorporates the latest advancements in dance education and mind-body awareness to help her students achieve their goals safely and effectively.
As a certified member of the Canadian Dance Teacher Association since 1995, Patti has held various leadership roles, including Alberta Branch President and Exam Coordinator. Her global experience includes performing on cruise ships, leading students to prestigious events, and speaking at industry conferences. Through her work, Patti strives to inspire confidence and self-belief in every student she teaches.
Resources discussed in this episode:
- Simon Sinek – Ted Talk
- Simon Sinek – The Golden Circle
- Simon Sinek – Start with Why
- Simon Sinek – Find Your Why
- Simon Sinek – Leaders Eat Last
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Contact Sharon DeKoning | It’s Time Promotions:
- Website: itpromo.ca
- LinkedIn: Sharon DeKoning
- Facebook: It’s Time Promotions
- Google: It’s Time Promotions
Contact Patti Johnston | Core Dynamics:
- Website: http://www.coredynamics.ca
- Instagram: @coredynamics_dance.lloyd
- Facebook: DynamicsCore
- Email: [email protected]
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Transcript
Sharon DeKoning: [00:00:16] Today we have Patti Johnston with Core Dynamics here in the studio with me for It’s Time for Success: Business Insights Podcast. I got to know Patti through our BNI group here in Lloyd. Her energy and disposition on values really resonates and speaks to me. With the hopes that it will inspire other entrepreneurs out there, Patti, I’m hoping that you can share your insights, maybe some wisdom over the years, some fails, some wins with other entrepreneurs out there. So Patti, introduced herself a little bit for us.
Patti Johnston: [00:00:47] Well hi, I’m Patti Johnston and I’m excited to be here with Sharon today. I got started in dance when I was five years old and just fell in love with it. My first dance lesson was on my grandpa’s feet in a farm kitchen, I think probably how a lot of us got started that are around my age. I think from that it was a sense of community, dancing with my grandpa, getting to go to old time dances with him, it just made me fall in love with the community that I related to dance. And then I was lucky enough to grow up in a dance studio where I had some of my best friends. Especially as a girl growing up, you all know what it’s like to go to school and your friends turn on you one day, but I could always leave school and go to my dance studio and I always had friends there. So for me, it was all about community and the culture that I was in, and I’ve ended up making a career out of it. Was headed to university to be a pilot actually, and turn of events. I ended up teaching dance and then years later, opening up my own studio.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:01:59] Well, we are glad that you stayed and did exactly that, for sure. I can see where your passion, that actually shares a lot for me, because you’re so passionate when you talk about dance from 3 to 83, Patti always says to us. So those core values really resonate right down from when you were little. That’s very cool. The core dynamics culture, you talked about it a lot. You talk about it a lot and you’ve implemented it in different, various ways, not only with your team, with your students, but also with the parents.
Patti Johnston: [00:02:26] Yeah, to me, it’s number one in business, because what differentiates me from any other dance studio out there, but also if you walk into a hardware store and it says our core values are customer service and all the blanket core values, it’s like, okay, but what does that tell me about you and how you do business? And there’s a great Simon Sinek podcast on The Golden Circle, and I love Simon Sinek. So first of all, if he’s listening, I’m your favorite fan. But he talks about people don’t do business with what you do, they do business with why you do it. It is so closely connected to the owner, to the CEO for their sole purpose of why. I know why you went into marketing and why you believe so deeply because of our connection through BNI, but it’s because you also grew up in an entrepreneurial family with a cafe and you know what small business can do for community. And it shows in everything you do.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:03:31] How do you spell Simon? I’m going to write this down and I’m hoping that our listeners-
Patti Johnston: [00:03:36] Simon is S-i-m-o-n and Sinek is S-i-ne-k. And he wrote a book called Start With Why. Then he did a subsequent one titled Find Your Why and it’s to do with your team. And I did this and it was fantastic. We actually had to pass around a Kleenex box because people were crying, and not because the boss was yelling at them, because they felt so closely connected personally to why they were doing the job with my business. And I loved that, because that’s when you have buy in as an employer. How many employers actually feel they have true buy in from their staff?
Sharon DeKoning: [00:04:15] I always think I could teach a lot of stuff, almost everything, but I can’t teach, I can’t get them if they don’t have the buy in. I can’t take that time, I can’t.
Patti Johnston: [00:04:26] And I’m sure every entrepreneur listening to this is thinking of …
