Innovation and AI leadership, grounded in the work.

Fractional Innovation and AI Executive

Cory Nation, PE, MBA, MSME

Build TBD brings together Cory’s experience in systems engineering, enterprise transformation, venture building and hands-on facilitation. His work starts with a business problem: which decisions matter, which workflows need to change, and what the team needs to carry the work forward.

That is the thread connecting Build TBD’s services: choose worthwhile opportunities, design how people and agents work together, and build the capability to deliver.

Cory brings a playful mind to exacting work. There is room for an unexpected connection, a strange question, and a laugh along the way. The reasoning stays visible: how the pieces connect, what the evidence supports, and what needs to happen next.

For leaders with complex operations, valuable expertise and growing pressure to use AI, the first task is choosing the work that deserves investment. The next is giving that work an owner, a route into execution and a way to learn from the result.

Engineering depth. Enterprise experience. Founder perspective.

Cory has worked directly in business transformation across automotive, oil & gas, aerospace & defense, healthcare, and software, connecting transactional workflows with manufacturing, production, processing, and other engineering systems.

What this brings to your organization

Guidance, with a clear basis.

Our cairn marks a place to ask a question. Look for it beside “Ask Build TBD” to explore the services, systems, and research with our AI Guide.

The Guide draws on public sources and helps prepare an inquiry for your review. It supports your next decision; you choose the direction.

01Ground in the work02Notice the constraints03Connect the pieces04Make the decision05Take the next step

Step 1 of 5

Ground in the work

Start with the people doing the work. Walk through a real task, look at the tools and information they use, and agree on the problem worth solving.

What to carry forward: A shared description of the work and what needs to improve.

Read every step

1. Ground in the work

   Start with the people doing the work. Walk through a real task, look at the tools and information they use, and agree on the problem worth solving.

   What to carry forward: A shared description of the work and what needs to improve.

2. Notice the constraints

   Make time, budget, existing systems, and team capacity part of the conversation. Name the requirements and unknowns that could change the plan.

   What to carry forward: Clear boundaries and questions to investigate before committing.

3. Connect the pieces

   Follow how information and responsibility move between people, tools, and teams. Find the handoffs and dependencies that an improvement will need to account for.

   What to carry forward: A working picture of who and what needs to come together.

4. Make the decision

   Compare practical options against the evidence and constraints. Explain the tradeoffs, identify who can decide, and record the reasoning and open questions.

   What to carry forward: A decision with a named owner and a basis others can review.

5. Take the next step

   Choose a manageable piece of work, assign an owner, and decide what to learn from it. Set a review point so the team can use what happens to adjust the next move.

   What to carry forward: An action, an owner, and a time to review what you learn.

Executive ownership, with a clear mandate

A fractional engagement gives your innovation and AI portfolio sustained executive attention. Cory works with a named sponsor to prioritize opportunities, align delivery across teams and build the internal capability to continue.

An outcome-based scope and monthly executive retainer define the priorities, work products, decision rights and review cadence. Your organization keeps the authority it has not expressly delegated; implementation projects and ongoing operating support are scoped separately.

Start with the support your team needs

For a comprehensive starting point, Discovery is a 4–6 weeks, $22,000–$40,000 assessment that defines the operating picture, improvement priorities, and transformation roadmap.

Begin with an opportunity and decision sprint, test an improvement in one workflow, or build skills through practical team training. Innovation Lab connects those focused engagements with ongoing executive leadership.

Explore the methods and systems behind the work

Build TBD Innovation Labs

Developing a practice teams can carry forward

Agent Centered Design brings attention to the context, responsibilities, decisions, and handoffs in work shared by people and agents. Build TBD is developing the method alongside its tools, research, and learning materials.

The lab’s research practice brings together GeoFiber, Decision Thread, Agent Centered Design, and agentic operating systems. We study how relevant context, clear decisions, useful handoffs, and coordinated delivery contribute to work people can use.

Explore AI Research, collaboration, and funding

The Agent Centered Design field guide is in development. Follow the research and book updates, or explore the developing partner pathway for consultancies and agent-development firms.