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.

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.

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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 somebody that almost wrecked their business who didn't have it, that should have been politely asked to leave the ship. And others who are like, yes, they helped me build my business because we were so closely related with the buy in. But the buy in, to me, comes down to the values. My business values, my personal values, what I hold dear are so closely connected and same with my staff.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:04:53] So that's interesting. You said that about a member in your staff. You have to let them go if they don't do that culture. And being a woman, I don't know if it's just my trade or women in general. I always think that I can fix things or get them there. So sometimes I hold on to them too long because I think I can change them and I can make them better. It's a great fit for you. We're a great team. We can make this everything. And you just can't. Sometimes you can't, but you've got to recognize to let them go. You've got to recognize that. And when I say let go, you don't have to let them go, like fire out of here. Help them find somewhere else that will fit better for what they need in their life. That's my motto is, they may not fit our our culture, they may not fit what we're trying to do here, but they might be somebody's perfect fit.

Patti Johnston: [00:05:37] Exactly.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:05:39] Okay, so we did talk about-do you know-do you have a short culture that you can share with everybody? Is there like a blurb that you-like what are your culture words?

Patti Johnston: [00:05:47] Our culture comes down to, and this is just from surveying our families to find out what they like most about us, it's largely that we're a family oriented business. So my students call it their second home. I'm their dance mom, or like their auntie that gives it to them straight but also loves on them hard. It's a place where I want everybody that walks through our doors to feel welcome. But also because of the business that I'm in, they have to feel safe enough to make mistakes and that is huge. You can't have that if you don't build the relationship. And I'm not joking when I say we have people from ages 3 to 83. I'm honored enough to have the babies of my former students bringing their kids to me, and that is the greatest honor when they believe so deeply in what I did with them as a child, that they want their child to have it. I'm like, okay, I did my job right.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:06:46] You always say you're not just teaching dance. Like there's so much more.

Patti Johnston: [00:06:49] Yeah, I get paid for kickball change. But what we do, I really believe we help little girls and boys learn to discover what their God given gifts and talents are, and then how to double down on them, and then hopefully share them with the world to make it better.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:07:07] That is so awesome. And I think that as any business owner-I say that to even my team, if we're not the right fit for you, let me help you find the right fit. Life is short. You got to want to come to work. You got to want to grow. You got to want-like this has got to be your niche, right? So let me help you. Help you somehow. And whether that be through our culture, through our visions, then that's great. But if it's not, life is short, be happy. You have these cultures, you have these beliefs, how do you portray those to your team? So that-because we can't run our business by ourselves. As business owners, we know we can't do that. We need a strong team. So how do you portray that culture, those feelings into your team so they can portray them into your students to make them better human beings.

Patti Johnston: [00:07:51] So we started-actually funny story, it came about because, exactly what we were talking about earlier, I had a staff member who was causing a lot of friction, and I was trying to get her on board because everything she wanted, I was able to give her, just not in the way that she was going about doing it. There are certain laws in place with children and FOIP laws and all of that. And we'd had meeting after meeting, and so I actually developed a training to come up with our core values together as a team to help-the idea of it was to try and get her to see that she could have everything she wanted if she went about it in the right ways. What ended up happening was I got a lesson in, she is not a right fit for this business. Everybody else on staff was but she was not. And it really brought it into light. And so thankfully, I had my eyes open because, you know sometimes when you're running a business, your eyes are closed and you're pigeonholed on what you're working on. I had my eyes open on it. I had done enough research on the training that I did with them to know, to keep, to look for certain things. There was no buy in from her. And in fact, I heard later she had complained to other staff members about the process. Like, what was the point of that? For everybody else, everybody else was so excited. They felt like they were getting a say in how the business was going to be run because they were, but they fit. And so we came up with our core values together. We came up with five. We have healthy development, customer care, professional integrity, innovation and community. Those are our five. So those five are how we do business. And so then it's up to me to train my team annually and update and keep it in the forefront of the narrative in our staff meetings. This is how we do business, and that becomes the why.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:09:58] I'm just wondering, so you say staff meetings-so you don't necessarily review them in a staff meeting. It's just portrayed by your presentation or do you actually review them?

Patti Johnston: [00:10:08] I'll review them. It depends on what's going on. It's like, if we've got questions about certain kiddos, because we discuss our kiddos at every staff meeting. Who's thriving, who's mediocre, who's falling between the gaps that we need to keep eyes on. How do we help them. That's part of our healthy development. So when we're talking about that, I'll remind them, this is part of healthy development. This is part of a long term development program, because when we have them from age 3 to 18, through their school years, they are like family by the time they graduate. And we quite often know more about what's going on in their lives because we spend more time with them than some family members do.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:10:54] Right. And they feel comfortable with you so they're going to open up a little bit more. They have that safe environment.

Patti Johnston: [00:11:00] We can't ground them like mom and dad so they'll test things on me. They'll be like, Miss Patti, and I'll be like, oh, what do you think your family would think about that choice? But also developing a relationship with the parents because-our tagline is 'it takes a village to raise a child'. So I can't do that if I don't have the parents believing in what I do. And the parents can't have that if they don't have me on their side as well. So not only do I have to get myself and my team developing a relationship with the kids that are in our studio, we have to develop it with the parents as well and educate them on, this is what we stand for. Our team meeting this year, I started it by telling the parents, if your child is going to dance for forever with us, there are going to be times that you leave this studio and you wonder how you would raise them without us, and there are going to be times that she comes down the stairs, gets in the car and breaks into tears, and you want to rip my face off. And all I ask is that you wait 24 hours and you make the same phone call with respect. I'm going to treat you with the same respect. We're going to look after each other.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:12:11] That's so cool. So how would you say say I am-oh, let's say I'm starting a business and-okay, I have a customer, he's just starting a business, he's a remote mechanic. How would you say that-even though he's just starting his business, how can he commence his goal in life to make a successful business based on culture? How can he implement it right from now? Like, how can he do that?

Patti Johnston: [00:12:37] I love this question because I get asked this a lot. I was lucky enough to have a mentor that when I was thinking about opening my own studio, reach out to me and say, take a week, take a couple days, take some time, be thoughtful and write down all the things that you stand for, but also all the things you won't. And it was all the things you won't-because if you don't stand for something, you fall for anything. But we quite often don't think about what we won't stand for. Like for me, top of my list is always, I will not sexualize children in dance. They are children. If they graduate from my program and want to go be in a Nicki Minaj video, that is their adult choice. But as somebody who is still a minor in my care, I will not do it because the side effects are too dangerous in my opinion.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:13:28] Right. And that's not in your core value. That's not who you are. So that is when your will not. So okay, that's another good question. Okay, when you're just starting up. Money's tight all the time.

Patti Johnston: [00:13:39] All the time.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:13:40] You need to get your-even the 17 years later money's tight all the time. It's just part of business. So when he's starting up, sometimes you take a job-I remember doing a job back in the day, and I'm thinking back now, I would never do that job now. Like, never would I do that job now. But you need the money. You need the business. You keep going, right? So like, I wish I would have talked to you-I mean, it didn't-this was a minor job and it didn't portray anything but now my goals and my outlook is different on life. But like so that-do you feel that if you have the won't that it will affect them down the road, or will it be a positive?

Patti Johnston: [00:14:18] I don't know, I guess it would depend on the situation. But to me, if you're starting a business, it's probably because you've had some experience or training in it. I did, right, because I had been teaching for forever. I knew the things I loved that some studio owners did. I knew the things I hated that some studio owners did.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:14:39] Right. So you already knew the 'what not to do'?

Patti Johnston: [00:14:41] Yeah, I had a lot of things that, from a working perspective. But again, as a worker, you've kind of got a ground level view of it. As the CEO, you're in the top of the tower looking down over everything. So that list has evolved as I've grown and had to-had way more students. The systems I had at the beginning broke when we hit 200, then when you hit 250, then when you hit 350. Systems at once work break, you have to-

Sharon DeKoning: [00:15:13] So they evolve.

Patti Johnston: [00:15:14] So my list is definitely changed, but the values are more-it's more of a moral compass than a-that relates into your business compass. So yeah, if that makes sense.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:15:28] It does. Yes, it 100% does. What's more and even that, you sleep better when you know you're doing something morally correct, for sure. Okay, do you have any rules or routines to keep your culture alive?

Patti Johnston: [00:15:40] Yes, it is a safe place and that means for everybody. I do not allow my students to belittle or bully each other, or parents.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:15:49] So what happens if one of your team sees that, do they report to you or do they diffuse it?

Patti Johnston: [00:15:55] They have tools to diffuse it because we've talked about it, but if it gets bad or if it's consistent, it definitely comes to me. And then I have a phone call or a sit down with the student and or the parent, and we come up with, what is acceptable, what is not, what will be tolerated, what will not. And if they don't, they can gracefully get on board or they can go. And I have invited, I think, in 16 years, four families to go.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:16:25] Right, invited to go.

Patti Johnston: [00:16:26] I invite them to go.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:16:27] You have perfect wording because they-so the families themselves did not fit to your culture. So even though-so that's a good example of what I was talking about before. They generated revenue they were doing there. But because of your culture, it's okay to invite them to go.

Patti Johnston: [00:16:43] And it's hard. It might seem like I don't care. My heart breaks for them because I know what we offer. And it's it's the hardest part of my job. But I am the keeper of the culture. That is ultimately what I am there to do. And I'm not one of those women that puts #womensupportingwomen on my social media posts and doesn't back it up. And I'm like, if you are going to be talking badly about a teammate, and I teach my kids this at our studio from the minute they're starting, to get into that competition phase, I'm like, if somebody is talking badly about your teammate, I'm not asking you to pick a fight, but walk away and don't be part of that conversation.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:17:29] Which is what they need to learn in school, which is what they need everywhere.

Patti Johnston: [00:17:34] Everywhere. Because just don't agree to it. And especially with girls. Girls need to know that they can fall down and get back up, and their team's not going to be laughing at them. They're going to be supporting them. For me to get out of them what I need to get out of them, for them to reach their fullest potential, they have to know it's a safe place. If they don't feel like their teacher is a safe place to make mistakes in front of, they're not ever going to try full out.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:18:00] I guess I'd even portray-

Patti Johnston: [00:18:01] Yeah, if they do, it's fear based, and I don't ever want my students to be fearful. I want them to be respectful. I want them to not want to disappoint me because that's respect based.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:18:13] Yeah, I guess it even portrays-like it's a whole different caliber bu,t as we grow here at It's Time Promotions, I got new staff, which is great it's a compliment, but unfortunately I've already paid for those mistakes back in the day when I did them, but I can't-they have to learn them again. They get expensive, but as long as they learn from it and you got to have that mindset that mistakes is growth. As long as they're incorporating it properly, right?

Patti Johnston: [00:18:40] We have a big poster in the studio that says 'mistakes are proof that you are trying'.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:18:44] Right. So overall, because of your mindset, your culture, how do you feel that it's actually made your business succeed? How does it directly affect it?

Patti Johnston: [00:18:55] I think just in our student numbers, you cannot beat a referral. If you're sitting down for coffee and your best friend is like, oh my gosh, have you heard the things they're doing over at Core Dynamics.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:19:07] Or even, oh my gosh,  my daughter came back from Core Dynamics and she was so happy. She's been having trouble. It could be-it's so many different avenues that referral resonates.

Patti Johnston: [00:19:15] And we do a lot for our kiddos with our kiddos, like report cards. We've got apps, we've got communication channels, I've got live feed video TVs in the lobby so parents can watch. We do a lot for our customers because we believe they're family.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:19:37] That's so cool, I love it.

Patti Johnston: [00:19:39] I do too. It's fun.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:19:41] I kind of wish I went to dance at your studio back in the day.

Patti Johnston: [00:19:45] You're not even 83 yet, Sharon, you could still.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:19:48] Oh, I could, I could, yes. That's right. I got a few years.

Patti Johnston: [00:19:51] Adult tap is on tonight. Let me know. I'll let you borrow a pair of shoes.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:19:55] Adult tap, that actually-not tap but do you have adult-I went to watch my kids do dancer and Drayton.

Patti Johnston: [00:20:01] Hip hop?

Sharon DeKoning: [00:20:02] Hip hop. Gosh, it looks fun.

Patti Johnston: [00:20:04] Wednesday nights.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:20:05] For adults?

Patti Johnston: [00:20:05] Yes.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:20:07] So you actually get some exercise and you get to go do that? That's awesome. That's so fun. That sounds like a lot of fun, actually. Okay, so I'm starting your team. I'm joining I'm going to teach little kiddos how to dance. So they-one, do you actually give these new team members a document for them to look at for your culture, or is it just on the interview basis and then you monitor it over? How do they know that, as of today I'm starting today, this is enforced and it's mandatory.

Patti Johnston: [00:20:44] Well, it's part of my interview process. So if I don't think you're in alignment with my core values, you don't get to the interview. I've strategically woven it into my questions because-like you, I am busy and not into wasting my time. So I've researched extensively how to find who is a good fit. Key words that they will use. You name it, I have done the research on it. So it is strategically planned into our document. Before anybody teaches for me they do a trial class so I can see how they teach, and then I give them feedback to see if they can handle it, because that's another-

Sharon DeKoning: [00:21:26] Oh, that's so true.

Patti Johnston: [00:21:28] It's a big-and in all of my interview processes, when they get through, it's like, how do you prefer to have feedback? And everybody says, just tell me. And I write it down and I say, I'm writing this down so that if there's ever a day when I need to call you into my office to have a talk, I can remind you that you said this and they don't like it.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:21:52] Nobody likes to seem-and I find it's nothing better than a straight up conversation. And it's not-but I guess there's a trick to it. Don't wait till you're po'd, right. You got to approach it right away. That's my tip. If you see something, camouflage it or get in there right now. Don't let it get to that point. You got to deal with it right now.

Patti Johnston: [00:22:15] Exactly. Well, and for me, and my kids will be the first to tell you, if I'm mad, nobody needs to be afraid. But my staff has actually said, I've never seen you mad. And I'm like, you don't want to because it takes a lot for me to get there. And my kids will say, yeah and when she goes quiet, that's when she's dangerous. Because she's pondering how she's going to deliver it. And I'm like, it's very true. I will go quiet, because I expect more of myself. I'm never going to yell it. If I yell at you, you're in danger, move. There's probably someone doing a cartwheel behind you and you're about to get kicked. That's when I'll yell. But yeah, if I'm mad, I go quiet and I figure out what is the best way. But that being said too, I loved what you said because I have a quote that I always play in my head is, what you will allow, will continue.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:23:08] Yes. I'm gonna actually write that down again because it is so true. Okay, tell our listeners write that down because what you allow will continue.

Patti Johnston: [00:23:15] Both good and bad.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:23:17] It's so true. Okay, let's just touch base before we end it. You had talked about finding your culture with the group, with your team. Can you explain what that looks like? If any of our listeners want to incorporate such a mission, it's surprising that there's lots-I don't even know if I know my culture, I don't even know if I know my why. To the point where it's written on my wall. A lot of businesses have that, and I should probably refocus on that.

Patti Johnston: [00:23:43] It's actually-it's a whole training. I did it with Laura Waterfield, with her core values.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:23:49] Flora and Company, yeah.

Patti Johnston: [00:23:50] If you want me to come teach it to you guys, let me know. I'll come over for an afternoon and we can do it.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:23:54] Well, you know what? We should probably revisit that in January. Would it matter that I have two locations? Can we have somebody log in remote, one location? Log in remote?

Patti Johnston: [00:24:03] No, not at all. But it's basically finding out why they work with you. What do they believe to be true about your business? Finding the commonalities within that, and then doubling down on that, doing a bit of a deep dive, being strategic about it. Because the commonalities of why people belong to your business, the commonalities of why they continue to work there are your core values, whether you realize it or not.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:24:30] So cool. So if somebody doesn't-if there's businesses out there right now that do not have a core value, their culture, they could reach out to you and you can help them with this.

Patti Johnston: [00:24:41] Oh yeah, I would love-I love this stuff.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:24:45] I know that's why we're doing this podcast.

Patti Johnston: [00:24:47] Yeah, I could eat, sleep and drink this all day long.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:24:51] Okay, I'm going to put this in here. What's your email address or best way for them to reach you? Because I feel that this is the basics. If you're starting a business-I'm 17 years in, but if you're starting a business or if you're running a business without this, it will help you strategically align everybody all together. So if you're having staffing issues, if you're having any kind of issues at work, this will help align and get everybody in tune. And you will be flying like the flock of geese, as I was referred to as my team. So how do they reach out to you if they want to take you up on this offer?

Patti Johnston: [00:25:23] And then they could also call the studio at (780) 874-9988. And the thing that I love about it is, one of the hardest things is a manager or the boss. I hate the word boss, I think I call myself-and I don't even like Chief Executive Officer so I call myself the Chief Visionary Officer because I lead the vision and I get my team to buy into it. That's my job, and I'm the keeper of the culture. Because I feel like when this is-when your core values are done right, it gives your team the ability to work freely within a framework. You don't have to be there 24/7 for them to ask you, what do you think? I can say to my team, does it align with our core values? If it checks all those boxes, run it.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:26:18] So you're less micromanaging? Yeah, very awesome.

Patti Johnston: [00:26:21] Yes. And then the other thing I've done with-once the core values are created, the hardest thing to manage in your team is attitude. KPIs, easy. They're fact, right? Did you do it? Yes or no? Check the box. Yes, yes, yes your tasks are done. Is the attitude they did the work in the way you want it to be? And so I've actually created an evaluation process that I do with my team based off the core values that they created with me.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:26:48] And that would be part of this course thing that you have to offer? So how long does it take? How long does this-so if somebody says, yes, I'm going to do this, I'm going to book an afternoon, a day, how long does it take usually?

Patti Johnston: [00:26:58] Depending on how big your team is, like a smaller team, an afternoon, and a bigger team might be two afternoons. Sometimes it's good to let it sit, plant the seed on day one and let them sit on it and come back with better answers on day two.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:27:12] Perfect. Well, I'm going to book this in January because I think it's very, very exciting. Okay. How does your culture make Core Dynamics different from other businesses?

Patti Johnston: [00:27:21] Well, like I said, we do treat our clients like family. Because we fully understand that we're dealing with the most important aspect of a family's life, which is their children.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:27:33] And I love the fact that you kibosh any negative talk right off the get go.

Patti Johnston: [00:27:38] Well there's some negative talk. Most recently I've had a student who's not living up to the goals that she set for herself. And she's in that funny age where this starts to happen. And I've had lots of conversations with the mom. And what I love about our culture is-I don't know a school teacher that could have the same conversations that I have with my parents. Because it's always the teachers fault. It's always the coaches fault.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:28:07] Always.

Patti Johnston: [00:28:08] But I've developed a relationship where-and I'm not going to say that doesn't happen. It does, sometimes. It does. But I'm very clear with my students, you're all in this class together. You all have the same teacher, the same resources, the same energy poured into each of you. Why are some of you more successful than others? I have that talk with them because that's going to serve them well in life. I'm like, don't be a victim to your life. You are responsible for your results and how you feel about them. We coach them on their mental game. Do you know that-actually, I love this statistic. Any feeling you have from a conversation or something that happened with another person, like a feeling, physically lasts in your body for 60 seconds. Anything after that is the energy you give it. How powerful is that? Especially-and I've had my girls come back to me and one of them said, Miss Patti, you know the 60 seconds? And I'm like, yeah, I do. And she goes, today I counted down, and she goes, and you were right it works. She goes, I just sat there, I was fuming, I was going to open my mouth and I thought, no, you're better than that. And she goes, I started 60, 59, 58, and I'm like, girl, you just graduated to emotional maturity. Go spread that. Because how many more people need to learn that?

Sharon DeKoning: [00:29:29] Yeah. So even in business that could resonate too, right? Sometimes you want your boat to blow up or somebody might hurt your feelings, or it could be a team worker, or it could be a customer. It could be anything actually.

Patti Johnston: [00:29:42] Usually, and I find this just because I work with kids, whatever overflows from other people, it's because their cup is overflowing. So whatever's in the cup is what's overflowing. So if it's negative-I've gone up-my kids know to give me a hug. I'll say, is your love tank empty? And they're like, yeah. And I'm like, do you need a hug? Yeah. And I'm like, okay. And we hug it out and they're like, thank you. And they're a totally different child, but it's like, what was going on in their day? Did they have a bad day at school? Were their friends mean to them? Did they witness Mom and Dad have a fight? Are they going through a divorce at home? Did they lose a pet? Is grandma sick? There's so much stuff that people are going through on the daily, and we're becoming, sadly, I think a little bit of a society that stops looking at what happened right now, and be considerate of what could have happened 15 minutes before this.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:30:40] I actually had that same conversation with one of my team, and we have a group meeting every morning. We call it the Morning Huddle and we talk about orders. We talk about all that kind of stuff to make sure everybody is on the same page. But anyways, one of our team says, oh, that guy's kind of a cranky face or whatever she said, one of the customers. And I'm like, oh, he's not usually, but you know, maybe something up, blah blah blah blah. You never know what's behind, you know, whatever right? So then fast forward two weeks later, he comes back in and he was a different person. And she goes, Sharon, you're so right. I said, yeah, just because somebody is a little bit off or a little bit different that day, we cannot hold it against them. Anything can happen. Anything can happen in that short-could happen on the way to town, right? So yeah, just be mindful of that for sure.

Patti Johnston: [00:31:23] Well, and especially as business owners, stuff rolls downhill. So whatever we walk into the building with, is what our staff receives, is what our customers receive. And we have to be mindful of that.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:31:35] Yep. Okay so final note, share-actually I'm going to touch base on a couple of things. I think this is worth talking about. So author Simon Sinek, did I pronounce that right? You said he has a book on Golden Circle as well as Start with Why.

Patti Johnston: [00:31:51] The Golden Circle is a Ted talk that he did. Every entrepreneur should watch it,, every entrepreneur.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:31:58] Sorry, so Simon Sinek did a Ted talk on Golden Circle. Okay, so we can find that. Okay. And then the books he has is Start with Why and then the subsequent is Find your Why. Okay.

Patti Johnston: [00:32:11] He's also written Leaders Eat Last, which is also good.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:32:15] That's perfect. So these are-would you recommend-I'm an audio person, but I find when they're really good I listen to them audio and then I end up buying them so I can make some notes. But it sounds like this is something you want to buy right off the get go anyways, probably hey?

Patti Johnston: [00:32:28] I love them. I mean, I'll buy anything the man sells because I just love the way he thinks about doing business. And he's very much people first. You look after your people, your people will look after the business and you. That's the-if I was to tagline it, that's what he stands for.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:32:46] And I think as a-we can mention to any other entrepreneurs out there, you always got to educate, you always got to keep growing. It doesn't matter what it is. And that is a good example of one of the ones why we have to do it. Okay, I loved your phrase, what you will allow will continue. And again, that's negative and positive. I think that's something that you should be writing on the wall almost, because sometimes we do-I find, myself, I head down and I'm straight to work and I forget some things, and I let it slide and I let it slide until I'm almost to the boiling point. And that's on me. That's not anybody else. That's on me 100%. So I got to take time to recognize that. And I loved your comment about the chief visionary officer. I think that's very clever.

Patti Johnston: [00:33:28] Yeah. Or like, I want to be the fun ambassador. I want the kids to come in-yes they're going to learn, yes, we're working towards our goals, but it should be fun along the way. Let's celebrate it, not make everything work.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:33:43] That's right. And you can make your culture and your vision and your mission all those things fun. Like I said, we're at work. So much of the time your team is at work so much of the time-let's make a difference in this world. I always think if I can change one person's life, that would make me so grateful, right? Like, that's really all I'm meant to do out here is to help one person. So hopefully these podcasts can help that one person become successful entrepreneurs. Because if we have successful businesses you mentioned in our area. Well, guess what, they give back to the community. They're giving back. They're hiring more. It's just a great thing to do. So final note, do you have a fun or proud story where your culture made all the difference?

Patti Johnston: [00:34:24] Well, I have a few, but I think what we do best comes down to-we had a three year old come in. She had separation anxiety. Could not leave mom or dad without tears. So we found a routine that worked where mom would pass her. I would have to carry her into the class. She would help me do roll call, she would put the check marks on my roll call as I called out attendance. I would smell her hair. I would sniff her hair because she was so proud of her hair. And I would be like, how do you make it smell like heaven. And she would giggle. And then she would let class begin. And that was at three. When she was four, she had a different teacher. Her mom was a little nervous, and I said, you know what? I'll be there the first day. Don't worry. Well, wouldn't you know it? Something happened and I wasn't able to get to the studio on time. But this little peanut walked up the stairs, turned to her mom and said, see ya. Yeah, and then five, she's still dancing with us. She's going on stage, she's rocking it out there, she's got so much performance and style. And she went from being this timid little thing to this fearless female on stage that I love to watch. She's got the best smile. But it's just because we took the time to make her feel special, to make her feel safe. And now she's confident in front of 500, 600 people at the Victory Theater when we go out on stage. And I think that's the power of dance, and that's what I believe in.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:36:06] That's remarkable. Kind of gave me goosebumps, actually. Even I get young staff sometimes starting here and we've always taken in-it sounds like I've taken in a cat that's not the right wording-but students, I love grade ten. So then I get them for grade 10, 11 and 12. That's my goal. And they're just learning there. And sometimes, if you have the right culture, the right vision, they stay for the whole three years and they get to learn all kinds of things. I've had great reviews from the students that have moved on, and we've made a difference with and it's so rewarding to give that confidence back to them, right? Like that's a pretty cool feeling. So as a business out there, focus on your vision. Focus on your culture. Give back to your people. Give back to your customers. Give back as much as you can in that way and say, well, how did you say it, what you will allow will continue, for sure. Final comment, to reach out to Patti at office@coredynamics.ca.

Patti Johnston: [00:37:02] To talk more about core values, I'm up for it.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:37:04] And if you want to take her up on this offer to get your team and yourself aligned with your vision, culture and all that kind of stuff to reach out to Patti. Patti, I want to thank you so much for joining us today. Do you have any final words for our listeners?

Patti Johnston: [00:37:16] Well, I have a quote. Well, it's not my quote. It's by Kid Rock. I love it. And to me it sums up marketing, word of mouth and culture done right. And he has it on the inside of every single one of his album covers, which I think is so cool. But it says, if it looks good, you'll see it. If it sounds good, you'll hear it. If it's marketed right, you'll buy it. But if it's real, you'll feel it.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:37:45] I've heard you say that before. That's very, very clever.

Patti Johnston: [00:37:48] I love that because it's true. How many times have you done business with somebody and felt duped, or it wasn't what you thought you were going to get from the salespeople or from the-there's a disconnect in the business. So I think if we're doing it right, we take the time to deep dive on each process. And are we delivering what we promise? That's how you create a brand.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:38:11] And if you deliver what you promised, your business will grow. You will succeed. Just focus. You find out your, what to do and what not to do. That's the word I was trying to think of before. Go through that and figure out what not to do and that will help you for sure. Anyways, I think that's a wrap. Thank you, Patti, again for joining us. And we might have you on just to talk about your core value thing one day, maybe we'll just focus more on that and reveal how they can look at something like that. Okay, thank you Patti.

Patti Johnston: [00:38:38] Thank you, Sharon.