A 2x2 position map, or matrix, is a decision-making tool in which options are plotted on a two-by-two matrix. Each axis represents a decision criterion and is further divided into two sections. One popular business analysis tool called the SWOT representing Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats can be viewed as strengths and weaknesses that are internal (Strengths and Weaknesses) and strengths and weaknesses that are external (Opportunities and Threats). In this way a 2x2 position map is the graphical display of two factors in combination with each other. Which is why we get four results in total. The two factors can be regarded as potential (strong or weak) and environment (internal or external).

A popular personal development tool which is also presented as 2x2 position map is the Johari window (Figure 1). The Johari window was created by psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham in 1955 that was designed to encourage self-awareness and communication about behavior.

It was in 2018 when the founder of ESTE™, Terrisa Duenas, was asked to explain nanotechnology to National Science Foundation Master Teacher Fellows at California State Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). The more she explained, the more she needed to explain the difference between and among nanoscience, nanotechnology, and nanoengineering. And since her audience comprised award-winning teachers, she needed to explain nanotechnology in a way that was teachable. Dr. Duenas started to break down the difference between the root words ‘science’, ‘engineering’ and ‘technology’ and came upon two quotes from a Canadian website on engineering: “an engineer wouldn’t start a project unless they knew the answer” and “a scientist wouldn’t start a project if they knew the answer”. What about a technologist - where do they fit in this logic? This is when she noticed the similarity of her discussion with the Johari window and using the Johari concept, Science was placed into the Blind spot and Engineering was placed into the Hidden area. Would technology fit into the Unknown area? This is when, like in the SWOT analysis, Dr. Duenas wondered what factors were driving these results and came to what a practitioner values versus what society values. Engineers are practitioners who value knowns for those in society who value knowns. Scientists are practitioners who value unknowns for those in society who value unknowns. Then she asked, “Who values knowns for those who value unknowns” and that is precisely what technologist do. And then she asked, “Who values unknowns for those value knowns” and immediately saw the entrepreneur’s product-market fit challenge in the Open area. This is when the ESTE™ Framework was born (Figure 2).

The realization of these multidimensional relationships prompts the following research questions:

1.    If ESTE™ is innate in our societal thinking, are not the individual traits innate in every person?

2.    If ESTE™ is an outcome of how society has come to define these disciplines, is there not massive data to support these trends?

The importance of differentiating Entrepreneurs, Scientists, Technologists, and Engineers

Entrepreneurs, Scientists, Technologists, and Engineers bring different perspectives, ways of thinking, and approaches to communications in general and problem solving particularly. It is important that we acknowledge, appreciate, and celebrate these differences to benefit from their respective contributions, both individually and in synergy with each other. The collective we - our society, our educational system, our government, and our employment workforce - need to sharpen the way we think about these unique individuals. If we do not, then we risk losing out on the potential power of their mindsets and their contribution to society. Use the ESTE™ Framework to help differentiate your thinking, see the differences in others, and nurture them.

How to recognize our differences

Think about your own career path over the years. Were you sometimes an engineer, sometimes a scientist, and at times also innovating? Depending on the task or project at hand, you could have been stepping through each of the disciplines. Entrepreneur. Scientist. Technologist. Engineer.

If you are an Educator:

Recognize, encourage, and nurture the student:

• who likes to see how things work and connect them in ways not thought of before - Entrepreneur

• who is thrilled with discovery and studies it intently – Scientist

• who is engaged with tools to harness discovery – Technologist

• who likes to see how things work and make more things that work – Engineer

If you are a Corporate Leader:

It is a business value to recognize the teammate with an engineering mindset who wants to continue to corner the customer for requirements or the one with a science mindset forever encircled in the excitement of unknowns. Or recognize the engineering practitioner with an innovative mindset who thrives in new territories, or the engineer who prides herself on being the “go-to” for the software interface and who is your likely data scientist and technologist for the project.

Using the ESTE™ Framework as the basis and years of follow-on research into patent development and knowledge formation, two additional profound connections were also discovered. One – the pattern is circular showing us the circular nature from science to technology to engineering to innovation and around again; we make discoveries, patent their utility, and integrate those patents into real-world practice. Two - bodies of knowledge are formed not by what we know, but what we don’t know. Like human DNA - we are not all combinations of it, but rather a specific constellation combination that makes us human.

[Puyt R, Lie FB, De Graaf FJ, et al. Origins of SWOT Analysis. Academy of Management. 2020; published online https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2020.132; Newstrom JW and Rubenfeld SA. The Johari Window: A Reconceptualization. Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning: Proceedings of the Annual ABSEL conference. 1983; 10]

ESTE® Leverage - founded in the belief that Entrepreneurship, Science, Technology, and Engineering are innate in each of us - grounded in the science of learning & assessment – dedicated to the realized potential in every individual.