The Professional Life Matrix (v2)

The Matrix has been reloaded! While preparing for a recent presentation I gave about the PLM at KU, I realized the PLM (v1) wasn’t quite right. Specifically, the RISK line didn’t make sense.

In that first version, the Intrapreneur was shown to have more risk in the game than the Shaper. Not true! The employees of a startup (especially one that’s early stage) are certainly taking on more risk by participating in a young company’s venture. When it comes to the Intrapreneur, at least they can bank on getting a paycheck from The Man. So to correct this, I simply rotated the entire matrix a 45 degrees counter-clockwise. #boomsizzle #problemsovled

I also made a few other adjustments in this version.

1. Right at the top, I replaced wording and shape for the person that falls squarely in the Entrepreneur/Startup section. The Founder: the person with the original idea, insight and passion to make his dream a reality. Sure, they are often Hipsters, Hustlers and Hackers, but so to can shapers be these three things. It’s the act of founding a company that really sets the Founder and Shaper apart.
2. You’ll notice the Intrapreneur circle overlaps the Corporation/Startup axis into the Corporation/Employee section. Although the Intrapreneur is given more leeway to step outside the norms of the typical corporate setting, at the end of the day they are inextricably tied to the corporation (and thus remain an employee of the corporation). After all, it’s the corporation that is funding the Intrapreneur’s project and paying their salary.
3. In the same breath, the Shaper triangle now intersects and crosses over the Corporation/Startup axis into the Entrepreneur/Startup section. Although Shapers can be considered “employees” they are so much more than that. A true Shaper works with tenacity and diligence as if the company were their own, and more than likely the Shaper has some skin in the game in the form of equity. Furthermore, the lines are often blurred between the company’s Founder and Shapers. They all wear so many hats and do so many tasks that it really is like a survival team deep in a remote forest doing anything and everything they can to stay alive. And last but not least, the Shaper usually has some of their own ideas that they hope to someday turn into a business venture. Thus, the risk arrow points up … skyward … in the direction their hopes and dreams will travel.

Originally published at http://www.matthewmarcus.com on November 5, 2014.