Today’s Issue: Extinction-Thing of the past?, Vendor Spotlight, Organizational Leadership, ECE News = 1 cup of coffee read time

Bringing Back the Dead: We live in interesting times to say the least. The headlines always seem to offer glimpses on near doom or stories that seem like they came straight out of a Sci-Fi movie. 👽 So we weren’t too surprised that Texas-based company, Colossal Biosciences, announced the de-extinction of the Dire Wolf, which has not been on planet earth in about 10,000 years. So first things first, the wolf cubs are cute. However, the question is, what will it want to hunt when they grow up? Yikes! 😬

Vendor Sponsor: Reflection Sciences

Thanks for the great support for our vendor partner this month, Reflection Sciences. 💪🏻 Many of you have reached out or played their online game to assess your Executive Functioning (EF) score. So how does EF impact school success? Reflection Sciences shared this quick chart to provide some insights. 🔭

This is why EF assessment and attention can help drive results down the road for students. Reflection Sciences offers a research-backed and award winning tool that provides a reliable and easy to use platform to help kick start a child’s progress. 🛠️

Did you check your score last week? If not, try it out and see!

CLICK their logo below to play the game and find out!

Guest Writer! - Nikkie Handy 🙌🏻

We love being able to work with industry experts and contributors at The Ecential. That is why we are excited to introduce our guest writer, Nikkie Handy, who will focus on key business insights over the next several weeks to our reader base. For a quick intro, Nikkie is a seasoned Franchise Business Coach with Ivy Kids and independent consultant with 25 years of experience in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE). She specializes in transforming childcare centers into thriving, high-quality educational environments. In addition, her diverse expertise spans child development, early childhood behavior, brain development, ECCE teaching methodologies, and pedagogy.

At The Ecential, we’re committed to bringing you insights from thought leaders who truly understand the world of early childhood education. This week, we’re featuring content from Nikkie—and we’d love to know what you think. If you find her insights valuable, the best way to show it is by forwarding this newsletter to a friend or colleague who would benefit too. You can also simply reply to this email with a quick “Yes” or “No” to let us know if the content hit the mark. Your feedback helps us shape future issues to be even more useful, actionable, and relevant for you and the entire ECE community.

“Thou Shalt Know Thyself: Core Values as Your Internal Operating System”

My professional journey has led me to work with a wide variety of business models—owner/operators, partnerships, investor-backed groups, corporate structures, and now franchising. What I find absolutely delightful is how a business begins to take on the personality of its owner or leadership team. The values, tone, and emotional signature of the person steering the ship tend to show up in how the business behaves with customers, staff, and stakeholders.

In my current role as a Franchise Business Coach, I’ve had a front-row seat to this phenomenon. As I wrapped up year-end strategic planning sessions with franchise owners across our network, something struck me: the most successful business owners had a strong sense of their core values—and they’d managed to translate those into an internal operating system that guides everything from hiring to crisis management.

Sometimes this happened organically. Sometimes, a strong example or mentor helped them shape their values over time. But in every case, these leaders weren’t just tossing around vague ideals like “integrity” or “service” — they had clearly defined, working values that actively supported decision-making.

So here’s the real question: if your core values shape your leadership, influence your reactions, and drive your decisions, how do you uncover them without picking a list off Pinterest and calling it a day?

Where Woo Meets the Whiteboard

If you're a pragmatic, linear thinker, this conversation might sound a bit “woo woo.” In fact, in my experience, the folks who struggle most with articulating core values are often the most logic-driven business owners. But that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook.

The truth is, we all have core values. They form the lens through which we interpret the world. They influence not only what we praise, but what makes us absolutely bristle. In fact, one of the best ways to discover your core values is to reflect on moments when something really upset you. What value was being violated?

Let me give you an example. Several years ago, I worked with a multi-site owner who was typically very calm and methodical. During his monthly audit of accounts receivable, he came across a series of small, but avoidable errors at one of his newer sites. The revenue impact was minimal, but the accounting was sloppy. I called him, and he was livid—voice raised, breath short, totally out of character. It wasn’t about the money. It was about precision. A core value had been tripped like a silent alarm.

This kind of visceral reaction is what Dr. Brené Brown calls a “face-down moment” —an emotional cue that can help you reverse-engineer what you care about most (Brown, 2018).

Label the Breakers

Think of your core values as circuit breakers in the control room of your leadership. When something isn’t working—when your leadership “shorts out” —you need to know which breaker flipped. But you can’t do that if the breakers aren’t labeled.

If you don’t understand what your core values are, you’re likely to keep operating with unexamined instincts. And as business grows more complex, instincts alone won’t sustain clarity or consistency. In the language of the McKinsey 7S Model, shared values are the foundational alignment point between strategy, systems, and style. When your values are clear, everything else gets easier to calibrate (McKinsey & Company, 2023).

So how do you label your breakers?

• Reflect on what frustrates you most at work. That’s often where a violated value lives.

• Recall a time you felt immense pride. What was being honored?

• Ask your team: “What’s something you know I’ll never compromise on?” Their answers may surprise you.

Let Your Values Lead

This process isn’t about creating a pretty poster for the breakroom. It’s about knowing which part of you needs to be activated when making decisions. If “precision” is a value, you’ll invest instrong financial systems. If “trust” is a value, you’ll communicate more transparently. If “growth” is a value, you’ll push your team to stretch.

Here’s the good news: your core values are already working on your behalf. Your job is to make sure they’re working for you—and your business. Define them, refine them, and memorialize them. That’s the first, most important step to building a company that reflects who you truly are.

Report back when you find yours.

KPIs, crayons, and courage,

Nikkie Handy

References

Brown, B. (2018). Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. Random House

McKinsey & Company. (2023). The 7S Framework Explained. Retrieved from https://strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/mckinsey-7s-model-framework/

The Internet is a Playground:

🗓️ On this Day in History: In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the FIRST African American player in Major League Baseball. This monumental shift paved the way for future generations to play America’s favorite past time. ⚾️

🤖 Who Says Robots Can’t be Cute: Samsung is launching its new robot this summer and people are in love. This new robot will be powered by Google’s AI Gemini that will allow Ballie to process voice, audio and visual data.

🎢 That’s Fun!: Universal just announced a new theme park. But instead of the usual Florida or California sunny spots, this one will be built in the UK! In case you needed another reason to go to the UK instead of seeing the King, well, now you got one!

🐶 Aww: Puppies and butterflies!

YOUR VOICE COUNTS

Is there a topic you want more info on or want to share a funny story? Then let us know! Shoot us a quick email at [email protected]. This newsletter is for you, and well, you should have a say, don't’ you think?