Hello Reader,

In 1986, Cleveland set out to break a charitable world record.

1.5 million balloons launched together, rising in a colourful cloud of civic pride.

The city was buzzing – volunteers, sponsors, crowds cheering as the balloons lifted off. School children were drafted in to help blow up balloons and everyone was excited to revel in the feel-good factor of collectively helping Cleveland break the world record.

And then… chaos.

The weather turned, the balloons didn’t drift away but descended back over Lake Erie and the city. Airports shut down. Drivers crashed. Boats searching for two missing fishermen couldn’t see through the fog of floating latex. What was meant to be a moment of joy became a cautionary tale.

Looking back, it’s easy to judge. But at the time, it was framed as innovation – something new, bold, worth celebrating. Everyone was chasing the shiny thing.

I think about this a lot when I see organisations diving into new service models, new tools, or AI initiatives. The energy is the same – excitement, momentum, a desire to do something remarkable. But when we don’t pause to understand how everything connects, we risk filling the sky with balloons of our own making.

So here’s a question worth sitting with:

And if so – what’s the one thing you could apply today to make a difference?

This is where service architecture helps.

It gives us a way to see the whole system before we pull the trigger – to ask, what are we not seeing?

Instead of chasing the visible success metric (the record, the launch, the hype), we can explore how each part fits together, how errors cascade, and how to design for resilience.

3 things you can do to start building service architecture today

1. Start where you are. Sketch out the service you’re part of – the moving pieces, the dependencies, the teams. Clarity often comes from doing, not pitching.
2. Talk to the people upstream and downstream from your work. How does what you do - ripple out?
   Systems thinking doesn’t have to be heavy; it starts with simple conversations that reveal hidden connections.
3. I love Smaply – (yes, they sponsor the podcast, but this isn't the reason for me stating this here) It’s the original and, from my experience, still the best on the market for clients. It’s practical, accessible, and doesn’t charge a fortune or promise the earth. It just helps you see your system more clearly. Note: If you sign up, you get 20% off with the coupon below.

If you’d like to explore service architecture training for your organisation – or want to see how it could fit into your current way of working – reach out.

Start small, test, learn, and avoid becoming the next balloon story.

Until next week,

Gerry

P.S They didn't even break the world record...

Gerry Scullion​ Founder & Designer Connect with me on LinkedIn | Join our Directory | Write a podcast review for This is HCD Podcast​

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