~ AI in Crayon · 2026

I write the recipes for AI in operating companies.

Every week I'm running these recipes with clients in HVAC, insurance, pharmacies, manufacturing, and consulting. Privately held $5M to $50M operating companies. US and international. The frameworks here are what I run in the field. How to think about AI. How to decide what to build. How to make people happier at the water cooler. I publish Tuesday, Thursday, Friday.

Start with the Diagnostic Read the latest
Reuben "Reu" Smith, founder, Local Nerds. Host, AI in Crayon.

Reu ~ founder · Local Nerds
host · AI in Crayon

~ tuesday · thursday · friday

Recent episodes.

Browse the archive →
Hire AI Like a Contractor

Hire AI Like a Contractor
The Shift

Hire AI Like a Contractor

August 27, 2026 · 5 days fresh

The Wish on Your Shelf Just Got Cheap to Build
AI in Crayon · ep
The Wish on Your Shelf Just Got Cheap to Build

The dispatch spreadsheet, the renewal-tracking sheet, the patient-callback log. You have been waiting for a vendor to build the real version for five years. The cost of building it yourself just collapsed.
Your AI Employee Handbook Is Not a Policy
AI in Crayon · ep
Your AI Employee Handbook Is Not a Policy

Most companies wrote a permission slip and called it an AI handbook. The document that actually manages the work is an operating standard, built one station at a time.
Separating the Fear From the Function
AI in Crayon · ep
Separating the Fear From the Function

You cannot train your way out of a role conversation. Before the demo, separate what the tool will do from what people think that change says about their value.
Attention Is Out, Intention Is In
AI in Crayon · ep
Attention Is Out, Intention Is In

If the right person is already looking, your job is not to grab attention. Your job is to make the decision easier. Score the system you actually run.
~ what's underneath the episodes Read the framework family →
~ how I think

Five frameworks. One archetype.

Your business is a kitchen. The Chef holds taste at the hub. The Pass routes the orders. Six stations cook the recipes. Pull any role and the service fails. The frameworks below the fold are how an AI-native business actually runs.

THE PASS · ORCHESTRATOR THE HUB Chef (you) Sales STATION Marketing STATION Service STATION Operations STATION Finance STATION Research STATION ~ human lives here

Read the framework family →

~ a recent build

Three stations stood up. The numbers got real.

4.8×
the leads
on the SEO and GEO plan

Fort Collins Insurance has been on the Build for over a year. Marketing, Sales, and Operations stations stood up, all measured. The 4.8x is what the system produces every month. Sixty percent less paid traffic. Twelve hours a week recovered on email triage.

The frameworks on this site aren't theory. They're what I'm running on live operating companies, every week.

Read the case study →

~ ready to draw it for yours?

Want yours next?

Three to six weeks. One Station Plan. One Prep List of the systems worth handing off first. No deck, no pitch.

Start the Diagnostic
~ three doors

Three doors in. Each stands on its own.

Run the audit for free and never come back. Run the Diagnostic and take the roadmap home. Or engage on the Build. Each one is the right answer for a different kind of week.

01
~ free

The AI Audit

10 minutes. 7 questions. 21 points.

Where you stand right now. An honest read on whether you've deployed AI in your business, or just announced it.

Run the audit → 02
~ engagement

The Diagnostic

3 to 6 weeks. One working roadmap. No deck.

A custom Station Plan, a Four D's read on every function, and a ranked Prep List of the systems worth handing off first. Yours to run with.

See the spec → 03
~ retainer

The Build

Twelve months typical. Implementation, with my team.

We build the systems on the roadmap. Your team owns the recipes after. The point is the systems run after I'm gone, not that you need me forever.

Read who I work with →