This document discusses the problems with future state blueprints for services. It argues that creating future state maps and blueprints can create "Potemkin villages" - situations where organizations believe they have solved problems through future planning, when in reality no actual progress has been made. The document recommends that organizations focus less on future state mapping and more on prototyping potential solutions through quick methods and storytelling to better understand service opportunities. It also warns that the expectation gap between leadership plans and implementation realities often leads to unrealistic expectations if the future state is not properly tested.

1. Richard Ekelman
Why Future-State Blueprints
Build Potemkin Villages

2. RICH EKELMAN
FOUNDER
2

3. RICH EKELMAN
NEW JERSEY EXPERIENCE DESIGN FOUNDER
SERVICE DESIGNERMFA SERVICE DESIGNBA PSYCHOLOGY SERVICE DESIGNER
SERVICE DESIGNERSERVED 4 YEARS
Master Trainer

4. 4
SERV/
FOR PROFIT WITH A PURPOSE
We helps teams learn how to create services
for themselves through building service
design capabilities.
Our approach weaves training into project
work. We believe traditional models for
consulting are not effective when designing
service systems. In our experiences services
touch many apsects of an organization
requiring internal capabilities.
As a registered Illinois Benefit Corporation,
15% of our gross revenue go to free design
services and micro-loans for Chicagoland
area small businesses.

5. Everyone starts
with a map...

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CURRENT STATE
BLUEPRINTS
Foster alignment
Create a shared sense of reality
Create a base for performance measurements
Illustrates how the layers of a service work

7. Then never get
beyond a map...

8. POTEMKIN
VILLAGES
In politics and economics, a Potemkin
village is any construction (literal or
figurative) built solely to deceive others
into thinking that a situation is better than
it really is.
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9. GET COMFORTABLE WITH BEING
UNCOMFORTABLE
COMFORTABLE
DISTANCE
Future maps are driven by the current-state maps
Easy to drown in channels
Keeps the real world out of the way

10. Activity is not
achievement

11. EXPECTATION GAP
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Stakeholders SD Team
Alignment
The facade of solved problems
feels like progress, but it rarely is
actual progress.
Most bad employee experiences
start with leaders making
decisions about their work without
experiencing the new service.
Decisions are made that set
unrealistic expectations for costs
and the realities of implementation.
We are going somewhere People will do this...right? We can road map it now

12. Mapping services
is not designing services

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Once a current state is mapped and measured teams can start
prototyping possible solutions to learn more about their service
opportunities. Many quick methods can offer better answers than a
future state map.
BUST
MYTHS

14. FOCUS ON
THE STORY
Good services are good stories
Concepts that don’t feel right on paper will not get better
Activate alignment and prototype as research prompts
Get the team away from features

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Pixar The Sketchnote Handbook CB Insights
Outstanding resource for the power of stroies.
Don’t get intimidated by their drawing skills.
The ability to actively listen to others and
reflect ideas is a critical skill.
Excellent source of data for how industries are
changing and competing. They are like Forrester
expect you can actually do something with their
information. Many reports are free.
SERV/ Convivial Toolkit Sergio Paez
Project based training focused on building
capabilities through hands on learning.
www.servinnovation.com/sd-course
pixar-animation.weebly.com/storyboard.html
Liz Sanders & Pieter Jan Stappers
Mike Rhodes
sergiopaez.com/tag/storyboards/
www.cbinsights.com/
The go-to source for how to embrace co-
creative processes and generative research.
A quick reads and excercises to get you
comfortable drawing and prototyping stories.
RESOURCES

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Thank You
Rich Ekelman
rich@servinnovation.com
@richekelman / @SERVppl
www.servinnovation.com